


What nobody could have imagined

by NicoleCollard



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: 74th Hunger Games, 75th Hunger Games, Canon Compliant, District 12, District 13, F/M, Missing Scene, Reapings, Slow Burn, The Capitol, Victory Tour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-07-29 02:16:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 35,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16254632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoleCollard/pseuds/NicoleCollard
Summary: A collection of missing scenes starring Effie Trinket and Haymitch Abernathy throughout the Hunger Games story, just the way I imagine they could have happened. Every chapter will be a 'behind the scenes' moment between them. They can be read as standalones, even if there's a story that links them._ _ _This story was first published in ffn back in 2015, but I wanted it to be here, because these two characters mean something to me.





	1. Before the 74th Reaping

**Author's Note:**

> As I wrote in the summary, I want this story to be here. I will be publishing the chapters bit by bit, since every single one of them needs to be re-read and corrected before being posted again.
> 
> I know this fandom is kind of dying, but I hope there's still some people out there that will enjoy this nowadays.
> 
> Warning: I'm a non-native English speaker, so forgive my mistakes.

When Effie knocked on Haymitch's door before the 74th Reaping, she broke one of her golden and fuchsia fingernails due to the tension. She couldn't deny she was quite irritated. After all, she had been working alongside the District Twelve victor for ten years and the experience hadn't been too pleasant so far. Effie tutted and prepared herself to wait for, at least, ten minutes, as always. But her patience had been wearing thin throughout all those years: she was about to turn thirty-four and considered she deserved some respect, so she pushed the door without second thought and got into Haymitch's house.

The man was bent down over the kitchen table with both hands holding his head as if it were going to spin around at any moment. He exhaled a weary sigh when he heard Effie's heels punishing the wooden floor and made an immense effort to raise his eyes from the table in an attempt to show some dignity. Haymitch saw the gaudy huge pink rose she was wearing in the middle of her wig and tried not to burst into laughter. Effie pursed her lips and tutted again: twice in so very little time.

“Haymitch Abernathy, you're hopeless”, she reprimanded shaking her head. A strong smell of alcohol hit her nose and she had to wrinkle it.

“Sorry for my lack of enthusiasm about all this stuff, sweetheart”, he replied with a hoarse voice. His words came out of his mouth as if his tongue were made of paperboard. “I can't help it”.

“We don't have time for this, so get up and get ready”, Effie urged. She couldn't believe how little empathy he showed towards her: she was there to do her job the best she could. She still had to prove herself as an escort in front of people from the Capitol in order to do her duty and gain some popularity. It was all about popularity in her everyday world. Maybe Haymitch could become isolated or drink himself to death in Twelve, but she wasn't allowed to do so, not with every Capitol eye fixed on unsuccessful escorts like her.

The victor started to stand up with noticeable difficulties. He staggered a little and Effie hurried towards the man to catch him by the arm, which prevented Haymitch from falling backwards. This dragged him forward and he ended up relying on poor Effie.

“You... smell nice”, Haymitch said with a silly smile across his face.

“That's so... so inappropriate”, she blushed a little because of the unexpected comment -she thanked her white make-up internally for masking her face-. Suddenly she felt a rush of heat in her cheeks, but she recovered quickly enough to keep the situation under control. “Drink some coffee and focus. You will be needed in an hour!”.

Then she helped him to become steady and turned around to go upstairs, where Haymitch stored lots of brand new clothes sent by the Capitol every now and then. With her heart still pounding in annoyance -or so she wanted to think-, she chose a fine shirt, a linen waistcoat and some matching pants which still remained untouched. Effie was used to Haymitch's unsuitable remarks by then; however, he still had the ability to psych her out on occasion. It made it very difficult to remain professional when he was around.

When she showed up again carrying the folded clothes in her arms, Haymitch was back on the table, snoring without any complex. Effie's eyes and mouth opened in pure disbelief and she felt rage spreading across her whole body.

“Haymitch!”, she shouted with a voice an octave higher than usual.

But the man apparently didn't hear anything, so Effie put down the clothes on the table beside him, her hands trembling in scarcely disguised anger. “Take a shower and get dressed”, then she sighed and added in a softer tone: “You have to be on the stage in an hour or the peacekeepers will come and get you, you know. I'd rather not see them drag you by the hair, so please, do your bit”.

As Haymitch didn't show any signs of hearing, Effie tutted one third time that morning. Definitely, she had tried with all her heart, but that man was impossible. At that point she could no longer remember why she had admired him so much once, back in her teens. With a wave of melancholy invading her chest, Effie walked towards the hall, cast a final look at Haymitch when she was about to close the door and left the house, taking with her the flowery scent and the noisy clicking of her heels.

When he was absolutely certain that Effie wasn't still around, Haymitch raised his head and rested it on his hand. With his eyes fixed on the door, he snorted and made a smirk. Somehow, he enjoyed teasing and bothering the Capitol doll, though deep down, he felt some kind of affection for her. But most of the time, he just felt indifferent or annoyed: her presence in his life meant he was still a slave of the Capitol and that brought up lots of awful memories from the past. Haymitch tried to drown them in alcohol very hard, but the odd escort kept showing up at his door every year. At least, he had to admit that she was stubborn and determined: no other escort had remained so many years at his side -it's no wonder why they hadn't-, trying to help the starving tributes from District Twelve to win the damn Hunger Games year after year and dealing with their grumpy mentor without even faltering.

Finally, Haymitch got up with a sigh and headed to the bathroom rubbing his temples.


	2. Eye battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place right after Katniss and Peeta argue about their chances to survive during one of their first dinners at the Capitol.

When they heard about Peeta's mother's goodbye words to her son, an awkward silence fell over the four of them. Suddenly, the apparently relaxed dinner they were having turned into a very uncomfortable one. The sweet boy got up and left for his room making a poor excuse, then Katniss followed suit leaving their escort and mentor alone.

Effie shook her head in annoyance and shared an automatic look with Haymitch. It amazed him how effectively they could communicate without words in spite of their differences. They had been working together for ten years now, that was true, and they kind of knew each other's kinks and reactions to certain things perfectly well. So when Effie put down her glass of wine on the table a little too noisily and sighed, it was perfectly normal for Haymitch to roll his eyes. He wondered whether, by any chance, Effie would be able to understand even a little bit of the horror those children were feeling.

Pursing his lips, Haymitch grabbed his own glass, leaned back on his chair and took a sip of wine. Every year it was more and more difficult for him to pretend in front of District Twelve starving kids that they had a chance to win. Not that he was making a big effort, and he had definitely given up on hope a long time ago, but somehow, something inside his guts, something that was out of his control, kept telling him that this year things were a little different, that one of this year's tributes could win and a little spark of hope showed up inside his heart for a few seconds. Then it was when he forced himself to remember two things: the first one was that, in case District Twelve could really win for a change, just _one_ of the two children would be declared victor, so the other would have to die anyway; and the second thing was that... in truth, nobody ever won the Games. Whoever the survivor were, it would become a broken human being just like Haymitch himself, and they would spend the rest of their life trying to cope with anxiety, violence, loss and mentoring.

“Well, since I see you're not going after them to try to fix this, I guess it's up to me. Once again”, Effie's annoyed voice brought Haymitch back to the penthouse and he fixed his grey eyes on her lilac eye shadows as if he couldn't understand what she was talking about. _How long does it take her to apply all that shit to her face every day?_ , he wondered frowning.

But when Effie finished wiping her lips delicately with her napkin and started to get up, Haymitch reached for her arm and grabbed her wrist out of reflex. The woman gasped in surprise and looked at him.

“I wouldn't go if I were you”, Haymitch told her in his most patient voice.

Effie frowned and shook off the mentor's fingers from her wrist with dignity. Then she put her hands on her hips.

“And why not?”, she asked Haymitch in exasperation, towering over him. “If we want to make Peeta and Katniss win the Games, we need to stick together and avoid arguments. I keep telling you every year, Haymitch, in case you have forgotten.”

“Sweetheart, your voice is like a drill that pierces my brain every single time you open your mouth”, he told her, which granted him a murderous look from Effie. “What makes you think I listen to any of the nonsense you babble constantly?”

“Nonsense? How do you dare? At least I try to do my job to keep them alive.”

“Alive?”, Haymitch snorted. He started to get up slowly to be able to look at the escort in the eye from the same level. Looking at her from below was causing him a headache. “I was starting to explain the kids how deadly a Career can be in the arena and what's your brilliant contribution? That Careers are not given any desserts.”

Effie raised her chin without looking away from Haymitch's face. “I was just trying to give them some hope.”

“There's no hope, for God's sake! Open those beautiful eyes of yours, Effie”, he stated, mere inches apart from her face. He couldn't believe it had to be always like this with her.

But Effie didn't step back. She swallowed the lump that was starting to form in her throat. She just wanted everything to be perfect and harmonious, to make everyone a little happier.

“There's always hope”, she said, her voice calmer than what she expected it would be. She crossed her pale arms in front of her chest. “I know you've seen it too.”

“See what?”, Haymitch asked a bit dumbfounded.

“That this year's different. That Peeta and Katniss stand a chance to survive. You can deny it all you want, but that doesn't mean I can't see that you still have hope. I see it in the way you act around the children, even if you try hard not to look them in the eye when you speak to them.”

Effie's words left the mentor speechless. She had come to know him better than he would have wanted her to. He knew District Twelve's escort wasn't as stupid as she sometimes seemed or, perhaps, pretended. Haymitch didn't move for a while, staring into Effie's determined eyes, and she didn't look away either. It was as if they were fighting a battle just through their eyes, since they seemed to understand each other better through glances than words. After a minute or so, Haymitch's tense body finally relaxed a little and he closed his eyes in surrender. The mentor exhaled slowly and Effie could smell the wine in his breath. Then Haymitch opened his eyes again and glanced at his escort's satisfied face. With a sad smile and several distracted nods, he reached for Effie's chin and squeezed it lightly. It was a strange gesture that caught the woman unguarded, because it seemed more affectionate than condescending, which wasn't like Haymitch at all.

“Go to bed. We'll sort this out”, he finally said and let go of her chin. “But don't get too attached, sweetheart. In the end it's my shirts what you ruin with your tears when your tributes get slaughtered.”

With a last warning look, he strode past her on his way to his room. He heard Effie's sigh when he had only walked two or three steps, then he turned around and looked at her back rubbing his fingers together, a disgusted grimace on his features.

“By the way, stop caking your face with that shit. You look like a clown.”

And he left the dining-room with a mischievous smirk on his lips after hearing Effie's offended grunt.


	3. Kids playing with fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter still takes place before Katniss and Peeta are thrown into the arena for the 74th Hunger Games.

Everybody who was anybody in the Capitol showed up at the scores hall at some point. The room was a gigantic silvery place where important people could hang out, drink, comment about the tributes and watch the interviews and the Games on the big screens. Most of these people were potential sponsors, as they owned the greatest fortunes in Panem.

Obviously, Haymitch hated watching the Games: he had had enough with his involvement in his teens for two or three lifetimes, so he stayed at the penthouse as much as he could, TV switched off. It was too painful for him to watch those poor kids being ripped open, as he had been once. But, despite that, and despite his determination to remain indifferent in order to protect himself, he was never able to leave them completely to their fate, and, as a mentor, he ended up having a glance at the scores, at the screens, and he always tried to find some sponsors for his tributes during the first days. Unfortunately, District Twelve tributes always died in the bloodbath or, at best, in twenty-four hours. There was nothing else Haymitch could do to help them survive and he carried that burden, though hardly anyone realized: everyone preferred to see him as a waste of space, but he was simply broken.

A noisy guffaw made him lost his train of thought. There was a four-member family near his seat: the little boy, dressed in a coppery frock coat, had just unwrapped a brand new plastic sword and was chasing his sister -a little Effie in the making- to attack her. Both their parents burst into laughter as the children started to run around them. Undoubtedly, they were imitating their idols, pretending to be two tributes from the Hunger Games. That must be so common in the Capitol that it was absolutely frightening. Haymitch had to make a serious effort to conceal what he felt at the sight of their monstrous little game, but he couldn't prevent a sad and wounded look.

He was sure nobody in the lounge cared about his feelings, and, to be honest, he didn't give a shit about theirs either. But there was one person who did care for him in her own way, indeed. Effie had climbed to the penthouse right after leaving Peeta and Katniss at the Training Center to look for Haymitch in order to start working on their strategy. As she didn't find him drinking his life away up there, she headed to the scores hall. Once she arrived at the sliding doors, Effie caught a glimpse of natural blonde hair and made her way through the amounts of people, but suddenly, she was fully aware of Haymitch's expression and came to a halt. She didn't remember having seen so much sorrow in the mentor's eyes ever before. He must be lost in his deepest and darkest thoughts, so Effie decided to give the man a moment before addressing him. She approached the couch slowly, then coughed quite audibly for Haymitch to notice her presence.

“Hi, princess”, he greeted Effie coming back to reality.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, fabulous”. His answer was pregnant with irony.

Effie rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. She knew Haymitch used to make fun of every tricky situation as a defense, but she was just trying to help. The escort armed herself with patience and she demanded again: “Are you sure? May I do anything for you?”

Haymitch stared at her with an indulgent smile. Poor thing. “Can you get me out of this place?”

Effie's face got sad. “Well, I can't at this very moment, Haymitch. We need to start making friends right now: everybody is here this morning. Katniss's and Peeta's lives may depend on it when the Games begin, you know that.”

“I know. Well, let's do it: the sooner we begin, the sooner we finish”, the man said as he got up from the couch as if his bones were heavier than ever. “But you know I hate social gathering. I can't put up with so much frivolity together and today I'm not having my best day”.

“I wonder what a good day looks like to you”, she teased him with a twisted smile as she took him by the arm. Haymitch raised an eyebrow at the teasing but he returned the smile. Honestly, how did this woman still put up with him after all he made her go through every year?

“Really, sweetheart? I could show you...”, the mentor replied broadening his smirk mischievously.

Effie hit him playfully on the forearm with a frown, she shook her head and responded: “Don't be rude, Haymitch. By the way, I'll take the lead this time, but you owe me one”.

The man raised both hands in surrender and walked arm in arm with Effie towards the first splendid group she spotted. As she had let him know the previous evening, the escort had noticed that Haymitch's attitude was slightly different that year, so she had decided to try and involve him in the project of training and helping their tributes one more time. She was determined to succeed, she wasn't going to throw in the towel, she was going to raise Haymitch from the ashes, despite all his bitterness and disdain.

Haymitch observed her as she exposed her points to anybody who was interested in listening. They'd been working together for ten years and that was the first time he noticed something like empathy in her. However, he told himself, her display of concern could have been just a strategy to get him on his feet as soon as possible. After all, Effie was an escort from the Capitol: she couldn't possibly understand what being a tribute or a mentor implied; they were worlds apart. Truth be told, she honestly cared for the kids and she always felt genuinely devastated when they lost their tributes every year in the Games, he couldn't deny that, but he was sure that that was all they meant to her, a game, a job, an opportunity to get a promotion: that was why Haymitch could never become close to her.

 


	4. Making peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter of the 74th Hunger Games series. It takes place right after Katniss's and Peeta's interviews with Caesar Flickerman: Peeta confesses his love for Katniss and she doesn't take it very well, so she attacks him back in the penthouse in front of their prep team.

“Maybe I can deliver you both in one piece tomorrow”, Haymitch showed his annoyance through sarcasm.

As Portia leaded scared Peeta to his bedroom, Effie pointed at Katniss with an admonitory finger and fired: “Manners!”. Then Cinna took the girl by the arm and walked her to her room as well.

Effie -arms crossed- and Haymitch -hands on his hips- remained in the living-room, where they could still sense the tension in the air. The escort kept shaking her head while pacing the place. Then she stopped and stared at Haymitch with her lips pursed.

“What?”, he said with a shrug.

Rolling eyes. “Nothing”.

“Oh, c'mon, is this my fault? Is that what you are saying?”, Haymitch asked with his eyes wide open.

Effie took a deep breath and then nodded. “Yes, in a way it is!”.

“I can't believe this!”. The mentor from District Twelve snorted in pure disbelief and turned his back to Effie, then faced her again: “Peeta says he has a crush on Katniss, stuff I don't know anything about, and even though it's her who confronts him afterwards, I find myself accused of being guilty of everything. There's something I'm missing here”.

Haymitch's face was only a few inches apart from Effie's by then. She could feel his breath on her glowing cheeks.

“You always defend her, no matter whether she's right or not”. Besides her being angry at what she just stated, there was a lot of resentment in her tone since she wasn't able to forget his gratuitous comment about her dress back in the TV studio.

“No, I defend her when you think she made a mistake and I don't. I've got my own opinions, you know? And I've gone through more Hunger Games than you, sweetheart: never forget that”, said Haymitch without taking any steps back. Effie's face showed all the frustration she felt. The man separated a little from her and went on talking: “Anyway, I didn't defend her today. I'm sure I made things very clear”.

“What is clear is that you've taken sides with Katniss. You don't think Peeta even has a chance, do you?”, the woman accused him with her arms still crossed in front of her chest as a defense.

“Of course I have faith in Peeta. How can you say that? I'm doing my best with them both, I'm teaching them everything I know about the arena. But Katniss has the support of the audience, despite her manners. She scored an eleven and volunteered for her sister, for God's sake. She's protective and has survival instincts as well, which makes her a powerful contender. I'm not saying Peeta can't win, of course he can, but Katniss reminds me of myself when I got thrown into the arena. I can't help it”.

Haymitch finished with another shrug.

“That isn't fair for Peeta”, Effie said, still reluctant to give up the matter. “You should try to appreciate them equally”.

“They aren't my children, Effie, nor yours. If you pressed me, I would say I appreciate Peeta the most because he's a lovely young man. I don't appreciate Katniss for being like me, I hate myself”.

“Haymitch-”, the Capitol escort tried to interrupt, but he didn't allow her.

“It's true, I live with it”.

A tense silence filled the living-room as both Effie and Haymitch looked down at their feet. Effie was quite lost for words. Bringing up the man's emotional burdens wasn't her point, so she started to feel ashamed and guilty. Before she could say anything to ease the tension, Haymitch spoke:

“I suppose I see you tomorrow. The big, big day and stuff, isn't it? Well, goodnight, Effie”.

“Goodnight”, she replied in a low voice.

Then both of them headed to their bedrooms without waiting for Cinna and Portia to say goodbye. They would be perfectly capable of finding their way out of the penthouse.

Haymitch arrived at his room and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He had stayed sober for two whole days but that argument was enough for him. As far as he knew, he was treating both tributes equally. Perhaps he gave some preference to Katniss, but it was inevitable due to all the reasons he’d explained to Effie. Besides, she had that mockingjay pin in her power. Maysilee’s mockingjay pin. He would have recognized it anywhere. Haymitch had discovered it among Katniss’s belongings the day before and had told Cinna right away about it, because he wanted his female tribute to keep the pin in the arena at all costs. The way the mockingjay had ended up in the girl’s hands was a mystery, but it couldn't be just a coincidence, Haymitch refused to believe that: Katniss owning the mockingjay had to mean something, he needed that little and unexpected ray of hope to still hold on to life.

With all those thoughts crossing his mind, Haymitch sat on his king-size bed and took a long sip of bourbon to calm himself down. Perhaps he had been too harsh on Effie, after all. The escort was just trying to make him realize how lost Peeta might feel without his full support. Both of them were too nervous these days because they definitely sensed something different in the air that year: maybe Peeta or Katniss had a chance to win and set a precedent, to change something... Haymitch shook his head to shoo these ideas away since his mind was starting to go down that very dangerous path again. He told himself not to get too excited. Dreaming was allowed, of course, but waking up from a beautiful but fragile dream to a real nightmare once again could be the ultimate blow to him, so he decided to focus on satisfying stubborn Effie as she was the only constant in his life. He knew he had upset her, so the man promised himself he would say sorry to the colorful escort the next morning.

For her part, Effie got into her bedroom, closed the door and leaned against it with her eyes closed. She needed to regain some inner peace as well, but she didn't rely on alcohol to get it, of course, she was far classier than that. To be honest, deep inside she was quite jealous of Haymitch for allowing himself to drink like a fish: she also wanted to forget sometimes.

Effie sighed and approached the mahogany desk where she had scattered all her schedules, documents, arrangements and similar stuff. Working had always been her way of finding refuge, but as soon as she started leafing through all those official papers she realized she wasn't going to be able to concentrate that night, on the eve of the Hunger Games. A sudden pang of sadness hit her chest.  _Oh, poor kids_ , she thought with her mind fixed on Katniss and Peeta, the first tributes from District Twelve who had showed some guts so far. And besides, Peeta had confessed his love for Katniss and now they were mad at each other. What a tragedy! The escort believed every single word of it without a doubt, of course. Peeta was so honest, tender and polite... Maybe that was precisely why Haymitch kind of rejected the boy: they had nothing to do with each other, they were as different as night and day.

Haymitch.

That man would end up driving her crazy, she knew. Nobody could remain indifferent to Haymitch: either you hated him or you loved him, and Effie was very, very sure that she couldn't stand the victor, though sometimes she felt quite close to him or even sorry, because she knew he was living an unhealthy and bitter life lacking in illusion. A shiver ran down her spine and she decided to stop thinking about sad stuff: the situation would become worrying enough the next morning, when she would have to fix things between her tributes and to convince them to make peace before going into the arena.

As she always did when she was going through too much stress, the woman took off her heels, sat down on top of her bed, crossed her legs despite the tube skirt she was wearing and started to breathe slowly with her eyes closed. Effie lost count of the minutes she had been in that position -maybe half an hour or more- when a light knock on the door made her open her eyes. She stood up right away just in time to show some dignity when Haymitch himself opened her door without waiting for an answer and poked his head round it.

“Come, sweetheart. There's something you need to see”.

She had no time to protest, as Haymitch had already disappeared from the doorjamb when she started to open her mouth. Effie put on her heels back in a rush and left her bedroom after the mentor. What in the name of God did he want now? It wasn't the first time he showed up at her bedroom in the middle of the night, of course. After ten years of working together, they'd been through lots of things, mostly losing tributes, but also Haymitch's drunkenness and hangovers. However -Effie thought while walking down the corridor- the man didn't look drunk that night. She went downstairs wondering where he would have gone when she spotted him waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase, shushing her with his index finger across his mouth. She could hear some voices in the air, muffled by the distance. When Effie reached Haymitch, he led her to the huge column which held up the stairs and they both hid behind it. Then the mentor pointed towards the large window and Effie poked her head to discover two sitting silhouettes against the Capitol streetlights.

Katniss and Peeta were talking peacefully. There were no signs of bickering or annoyance between them. Both teenagers had their nightwear on, so it was clear they couldn't sleep. Effie was tempted to go out from their hiding place to send them to bed, but it seemed like Haymitch had read her mind because he held her back just in case. Yes, for the first time, Effie had to agree with the man: maybe Katniss and Peeta needed to be alone to relax, and if that made them happy, then Effie was happy as well. They were so cute together...

The Capitol escort got carried away for a second and she rested her head on Haymitch's shoulder with a sigh, as if he were some of her friends from the Capitol and they were sharing a bonding moment over some romantic TV show. He raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but ended up corresponding by wrapping his arm around her shoulder with an indulgent grin. Soon both discovered that it was comforting somehow, so they stood there for a while, sharing that moment, making time stand still for them and for Katniss and Peeta as well. A few minutes later, Effie looked up at Haymitch and they locked eyes, maybe for a little longer than what would have been normal. Then the mentor nodded and they left their hideout and went upstairs together without a word. It wasn't until they were about to part ways that Effie said:

“Hmm, I'm sorry for what I said before. I'm quite nervous these days and I think I took it out on you.”

“You use to take everything out on me.”

“Haymitch, I'm trying-”.

“I know, sweetheart, I was just kidding. I accept your apologies, but I didn't treat you well either and I'm sorry. Go to bed and rest: tomorrow is going to be a hard day”, Haymitch said with a sigh, and Effie was sure about what he was going to do when he locked his door: drinking and drinking. For some reason, that thought made her unhappier than ever and she kept staring at his back as he walked down the corridor. The man stopped suddenly halfway and turned round to look at her, then he said: “By the way, Effie, I still don't like your dress” and disappeared behind his bedroom door.

The escort frowned in disgust and prepared herself for her beauty sleep.

 


	5. Nobody ever wins the Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go with another chapter set in the 74th Hunger Games. Effie's and Haymitch's reactions to some of the events that happened to Peeta and Katniss in the arena.

****Since he had become a mentor, Haymitch had never been as nervous as he was this year when the Games finally began. When he left Katniss near the hovercraft and saw her turn around to disappear inside, it was as if he were losing something dear. He had promised himself he would never get attached to the tributes, it was no use. He had even advised Effie not to a thousand times as well. But there he was, seeing Katniss go with a pang in his heart. It surprised Haymitch that he had even patted the girl's cheek as a goodbye, something he had never done to any other tribute in his life. What was happening to him?

When he entered the scores hall, Effie was already there, holding a glass of wine for him. But Haymitch couldn't even drink. There was a painful knot in his guts that didn't let him swallow anything, so he refused. The escort tilted her head in astonishment and decided to take a sip herself before leaving the glass on the nearest table.

The Games began and, against all odds, District Twelve's tributes survived the bloodbath. Haymitch couldn't stop hearing the noises Effie made every time Katniss or Peeta were in danger. When the girl found a high branch to sleep on and the boy joined the Careers, Effie finally sighed and leaned back against the couch. Haymitch shoot her a look out of the corner of his eye and told her that he was leaving for the night. The scores hall would be plagued with rich people eager to celebrate the Games at all times, so if either Katniss or Peeta needed help, he could always go back there in order to look for sponsors, no matter the hour. To his surprise, Effie decided to left too and go with him to the penthouse.

To be honest, neither of them slept much that night, nor the next ones as long as the Games went on. They spent their days in the scores hall. Sometimes they were joined by Portia and Cinna, or perhaps some acquaintances of Effie's that drove Haymitch mad. Sometimes the potential sponsors wanted to hang out with them too and offer their money and favours. But Haymitch always tried to retire at night, followed invariably by Effie. It was the first time in ten years working side by side that they reached this kind of agreement. They used to sit on the leather sofa in a companionable silence, except for Effie's frequent gasps and Haymitch's curses. At some point, one or the other left for their bedrooms to take a shower and change clothes, but they were always ready to act in case the children needed their help.

Peeta's and Katniss's abilities, evolution and story during the Games brought mentor and escort a bit closer than the previous years, apparently. Though they never really stopped bickering, they were a little more patient with each other. When Rue died and Katniss's kindness towards the little girl shook the foundations of Panem, Haymitch found himself rubbing inconsolable Effie's back to shoothe her, even if he was worried as hell for the consequences his honorable tribute's acts may have. He felt proud too when Effie patted his arm to congratulate him on getting some soup for Katniss and Peeta one night, and he also let the escort grab his hand when the teenagers kissed in the cave. Haymitch couldn't help but grin at Effie's innocence and held her smooth fingers -free of calluses or scars- without a word.

Sometimes at night they drifted off on the couch and woke up a few minutes or a couple of hours later with their heads on the other's shoulder. Then they coughed with embarrassment -Effie- or made a joke -Haymitch- and went on watching the Games as if nothing had happened.

The last day, they were seated in the scores hall around noon. Effie couldn't contain her nervous squeaks during their tributes' last fight against Cato. When Katniss finally shot her arrow to end the blond guy's agony, there was a deathly silence in the room. Everyone held their breaths and when they were about to start celebrating District Twelve's victory, they heard the news.

“ _Attention, attention, tributes. There's been a slight rule change: the previous revision allowing for two victors from the same district has been... revoked. Only one victor may be crowned. Good luck. And may the odds be ever in your favor.”_

The big screens were showing Katniss's and Peeta's pale faces from every possible angle. Suddenly, the mentor's throat got dry. He heard a muffled scream coming from his left as Effie covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide open. Haymitch reached for her knee and stroked it comfortingly without looking away from the screen. Lots of protests resounded around the huge hall, but he couldn't really hear them.

“ _Go ahead”_ , they saw Peeta's surrender with their hearts bleeding. _“One of us should go home. One of us has to die. They have to have their victor.”_

“Oh, this is so unfair”, Effie said half angry, half devastated as Haymitch kept on rubbing her knee. “Poor Peeta”.

Then Katniss shouted _“No!”_ and threw her bow. _“They don't.”_

Haymitch's heart began to pound against his chest violently when the girl went on _“Why should they?”_. She was referring to the Capitol highest spheres, to president Snow himself, and Haymitch's mind raced from pride to worry in a second.

When Katniss took the nightlocks out of her pocket and handed them to Peeta, Effie leapt up, but the mentor remained seated, getting more and more nervous, nearly biting his nails. Katniss looked so confident that it gave Haymitch goosebumps. She was going to do it, she was going to defy the Capitol, and he knew the terrible consequences of it perfectly: he had experienced them firsthand.

_Don't do it_ _, Katniss_ , he thought, but deep inside he knew there was no other escape for the kids: either both alive or both death. It was insane to force them to kill each other at that point.

“What is she doing, Haymitch?”, Effie asked sitting down again and clutching his arm.

When both teenagers agreed to eat the nightlocks together, the escort pressed her face against Haymitch's shoulder all of a sudden to hide her sobs, but she couldn't stop trembling. “I don't want to see this. It's so unfair... so unfair...”

The man was sure his heart would break his ribs at any moment. The kids counted to three. Some women screamed dramatically when Peeta touched Katniss's braid. Unfortunately, it was all lost for them. Everybody in the Capitol and in the districts held their breaths one more time, and when Katniss and Peeta were about to eat the berries... then everybody heard the miraculous voice saying _“Stop! Stop!”_. Effie raised her head from Haymitch's shoulder in awe, traces of tears visibly ruining her make-up. Claudius Templesmith resumed his speech: _“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games.”_

It had to be a hoax, Haymitch couldn't believe it. He still held his breath for another second, but nothing happened: Katniss and Peeta hugged and almost everybody in the scores hall shouted in happiness, including Effie. Haymitch sighed, not sure whether he felt relieved or desperate, and lowered his head to rub his eyes. After a moment, he stood up to go to the penthouse because he needed to think alone, away from all the cheering. But suddenly Effie threw her arms around his neck like a purple hurricane and she almost made him fall down. A flowery scent reached his nose as she tightened her grip on him and surprisingly it somehow worked like a balm.

“They won, Haymitch! We won!”, she kept saying. She was happier than he had ever seen her. He hugged the escort back patting her on the back with a sad smile on his lips. _Nobody ever wins the Games_ , Haymitch thought with a pang of anxiety, but what he really muttered in her ear was: “Yes, we did. Congratulations, sweetheart”.

He had already found out about the riots in District Eleven after Rue's death and Katniss's farewell to her, as he had a good relationship with Chaff, one of Eleven's mentors, and the man had told him about them. What Katniss and Peeta did at the end could be considered an act of rebellion as well, and he doubted they could get away with it forever. Haymitch got very angry at the situation. He didn't want to go paranoid, but they all could be in great danger for showing up the Capitol.

And, despite everything, poor Effie seemed so glad... Finally, she had her victor, two of them at the same time, actually, and she deserved that moment of joy, but Haymitch was sure Snow would ruin her victory by finding a way of making them pay for it.

When they broke apart, Effie's hands still on his shoulders, Haymitch couldn't disguise the concern in his face and the woman noticed it, so she became serious all of a sudden and asked him: “What is it?”

“Nothing. Look for your friends and enjoy. You earned it.”

“But, aren't you coming?”, Effie asked with surprise. “You deserve it as well, you have to come!”

Haymitch snorted, but softened his tone. “No, I'm very tired. Too many emotions, you know. I'll be up in the penthouse celebrating it my own way.”

“But...”, the escort was quite reluctant to let him go. “Well, alright, I suppose I'll see you in one hour or so when they bring Peeta and Katniss back from the hospital.”

“Yes, of course. We'll toast them. See you later.”

And Haymitch left her standing in the middle of the hall. He needed a drink. Alone. Now. Before he could start hitting someone.

 


	6. Violence at its worst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time to start with Catching Fire. Here we go with some scenes from the Victory Tour.

Effie had never taken part in a Victory Tour, so she was absolutely excited. When she boarded the train with Cinna and the rest of the prep team, she felt her heart full of joy. It was her moment -Katniss and Peeta's as well, of course-, but she was sure she fully deserved the trip after ten years of hard work and longing for it. She had never had the opportunity to travel to the rest of the districts in Panem or going to the Victory Ball held in President Snow's palace. However, above everything, she was a professional and tried not to show her feelings too much in front of her colleagues.

She had to admit that she was quite concerned about something: Katniss's reactions and Haymitch not being the mentor he should be. The girl was pretty calm when they had said their farewells back in the Capitol several months ago at the end of the Games, but that might have been due to exhaustion or shock. She hoped Katniss were a little more open-minded than usual, receptive and adorable throughout the tour, but Effie knew better: surely the Games would have increased her sulkiness. As for Haymitch, the escort feared his alcohol abuse anytime anywhere. Now that they finally had a victor -well, two- they needed to behave better than ever to set an example for Panem. Effie hoped to be able to convince Haymitch to stay sober as long as possible.

The prep team got off the train in District Twelve, picked up their three victors -two of them were quite cold towards each other and the third one only a little less drunk than expected- and they returned to the train together. Effie didn't let this break her down: everything would be fabulous, even if Katniss didn't take her victor role too seriously. Their first confrontation took place during the very first meal on board, actually. Katniss was offended when Effie told her and Peeta to enjoy the tour. The girl stood up without finishing her mushrooms and left the car. The escort tried to stop her with a high-handed “Young lady” but her effort was useless. Haymitch shook his head and said “Effie...” to calm her down. After a while, Peeta left as well.

When Effie thought the trip couldn't get any worse, they arrived at District Eleven. Everybody knew Twelve and Eleven were the poorest districts, and as District Twelve inhabitants, the victors were used to misery, but nobody in the team was ready for what they saw when they got off the train. Peacekeepers everywhere, full working high voltage fences surrounding the place, people starved to death and sadness, loads of sadness and desperation in their eyes.

However, the visit reached its climax when Peeta decided to donate part of their winnings to the families of the fallen tributes every year and Katniss said some words in Rue's honor. Effie didn't know where to hide. They should read the cards she wrote! Even Cinna and Haymitch were quite shocked. Then, an old man in the audience raised his hand with his three middle fingers up and whistled. Many others followed his example soon, which made the three adults shiver. Some peacekeepers leaped on the old man while some others took Katniss and Peeta away back inside the building and then... they heard a gunshot and the old man fell dead to the ground.

Haymitch had to hold back a shocked Katniss and then took Peeta and the girl up to the attic, where they may talk privately while Effie reprimanded the peacekeepers and the mayor. Never in all her years watching Victory Tours on TV had she witnessed such a violent response from the peacekeepers. The escort was shaking when she shouted at the guards, but she didn't let them see how distressed she really was.

Back on board, Katniss and Peeta went to bed very early. Cinna, Effie and Haymitch remained at the restaurant car for a while in silence. The mentor held a glass of scotch in his hand and stared blindly at the window, completely absentminded. He was remembering Katniss's words about Snow. The President knew something had changed since the last Hunger Games. People in the districts were starting to consider Katniss a symbol of the revolution, that revolution some brilliant minds had been orchestrating in the shadows for years, waiting for a spark that triggered the uprisings. Then that girl from District Twelve had appeared, volunteered for her sister, defied the Capitol in front of everyone and got away with it. She was the symbol the rebellion needed to rise and she had been chosen by the people themselves, she was becoming an icon just the natural way. And Haymitch was starting to be truly afraid.

Suddenly, Effie's voice dragged the mentor out of his shell. She was talking only to Cinna, because she could see in Haymitch's eyes that he was very far, far away from there.

“It's a shame the way they treated our victors. They can't ruin the tour for two winners with such violence. But I put them in their place.”

Cinna didn't say anything, but his face showed concern. Haymitch was aware that Cinna was somehow involved in the impending rebellion, so obviously he knew the dangers of admonishing a Capitol authority.

“Be careful, sweetheart”, Haymitch advised attracting both Effie and Cinna's looks all of a sudden. “You saw what they did to that old man. They will shoot you without mercy if you try to stop them. So consider your words next time.”

“Haymitch's right, Effie. These aren't the safest times”, Cinna agreed, but he knew there wasn't much else they could tell her right now. Surely the Capitol would be watching them.

Effie held her breath a moment and then she stated in her preppiest voice, “I'm a Capitol citizen. They wouldn't hurt me, I'm positive.”

Haymitch stood up and approached the woman staggering a little and stopped right in front of the armchair she was seated on.

“Don't be so positive and watch out. It's all I'm saying”, he said pressing his index finger against Effie's forehead for a second. “We don't want that beautiful head of yours splashed all over the place.”

After that, he headed to the door and disappeared through it, leaving Effie both confused and embarrassed. She looked at Cinna in awe, and the only response she got from the stylist was a worried nod. Then the man got up, squeezed her arm affectionately and left the bar car too.

Effie couldn't deny she was a little afraid after all that had happened in District Eleven. It was so unfair! It was her first Victory Tour! Why did she have to face so many problems? Really, why couldn't her victors help her a little with a better attitude? But she still was sure they were out of danger. Victors were always so welcome and cheered in the Capitol. Nobody would ever want to hurt them. They were like royalty! She was sure Haymitch was getting things out of proportion. It couldn't be that bad!

Anyway, from that day on, Effie put all her heart in the cards she wrote for Katniss and Peeta just in case. She stayed up late at night in order to make them sound perfect. She was creative and a true professional, so the hard work didn't scare her at all. If the only way to calm down Haymitch, Cinna and the people from the districts was giving them her formal speeches, she was glad to contribute.

_-oooooo-_

One day, while visiting District Eight, things seemed to get even worse. The people in the audience shouted with rage all the time and didn't listen to anything Peeta and Katniss recited. A pair of young rebels were arrested for giving the victors the mockingjay salute, but the straw that broke the camel's back was that a peacekeeper pushed Effie with his gun when she started complaining about the way her victors had been treated. Haymitch quickly stood in front of the escort to shield her and took her by the arm to drag her back to the train.

When everyone got on, Haymitch pulled Effie towards the bar car trying to be as delicate as possible, he searched for the ambient music volume controller in the wall and turned it up to its maximum. Then he approached the surprised escort again and pressed his cheek against hers to bring his mouth closer to her ear, which made her let out a respectable squeak. He couldn't take the risk to let the Capitol hear what he was going to tell Effie.

“I think I made myself very clear the other day”, Haymitch's breathing was rushed. “We are in danger. All of us. Something's happening out there, Effie. You aren't allowed to scold the peacekeepers anymore, don't put yourself at risk! Just write your cards, advise the children and smile. This is getting serious, so be careful. Nobody is untouchable anymore, not even you.”

He could feel Effie's burning cheek against his own. The woman pulled away a little to look him in the eye. She was frowning, as if she couldn't understand how serious their situation was.

“But, Haymitch, nothing bad can happen to us. Peeta and Katniss won the Games. They made history. They would never dare to hurt them...”, but her tone was a bit more insecure this time.

Haymitch's features became tense. Suddenly, he saw fire in his mind. There was fire everywhere. He blinked furiously to get rid of the images he remembered so well and fixed his eyes back on Effie.

“I know what I'm talking about, sweetheart. Make sure you stay out of the peacekeepers' way, okay? Otherwise, you will put the children in danger, too”, the mentor said in a tired whisper.

Effie's face got pale under all her make-up, but she answered his request with a nod and it was all Haymitch needed for now. He finally let go of her elbow and left the bar car without bothering to turn down the music.

The mentor arrived at his bedroom and searched for some booze as soon as he got inside. He needed to drink himself to death right now. There was no way he could deal with all that shit sober. He found a bottle of liquor under his bed that still had a bit of brown liquid at the bottom and he drank it all in one gulp. He hoped he had made the stubborn escort understand once and for all how dangerous her oblivious behavior was. With a sigh, he lied on the bed and fell asleep right away, without even taking off his clothes.

That night, his darkness was plagued with disturbing dreams. He kept seeing fire everywhere. It was one of his recurring nightmares. He could hear people screaming his name while they burnt inside a wooden house, but he could never do anything to help them. Everything was so blurred that he couldn't really distinguish the owners of the voices and faces. He knew it was his family, however, being killed by the Capitol, as it had happened so many years ago. But that night, something changed in the dream. When he woke up screaming a few hours later, Haymitch was sure that the last face he had seen behind one of the windows was caked with white powders and lilac blusher.

Then he got up in a hurry and ran to the adjacent toilet to throw up.

_-oooooo-_

During dinner time, Katniss and Peeta were even more quiet than the previous days. Effie was aware that they were afraid. Unfortunately, she didn't know how to cheer them up, because though she was trying to go back to her bubbly self, the conversation with Haymitch had left her kind of worried too. Speaking of the mentor, he didn't show up at dinner, so of course it was up to her to lighten the mood. Both children ate their meals and made their excuses to left Effie and the prep team to their business, and after discussing next day schedule and having a couple of drinks together, they were off to bed as well, which left Effie alone with her thoughts. As she always did in these situations, she decided to work to avoid the bad vibes.

The escort poured herself a glass of wine and took off her shoes with a satisfied moan. That was one of her secret pleasures: let her bare feet sink in woolen carpets after a hard day of wearing her heels. Then she settled down on the sofa, spread some cards on the coffee table and started to work, a determined look in her blue eyes.

Night found Effie still in the bar car, and she was already proofreading the speech for District Seven -where she would have to see unpleasant Johanna Mason, she remembered suddenly- when the crystal door slid open and a disheveled Haymitch got in. Effie's body tensed a little, but of course she didn't let him notice her discomfort. She shot him an admonitory glance out of the corner of her eye while he poured himself some liquor from a bottle and pretended to go back to her cards, but she couldn't help realizing how pale the mentor was.

“You don't look good”, Effie said with feigned indifference, her eyes still on her cards.

“You should look at yourself in the mirror more often, princess”, Haymitch retorted.

Effie made a face and went on proofreading as if she couldn't care less. She sensed Haymitch approach her sofa with the glass in one hand.

“What are you doing?”, he asked rubbing his temples with his other hand.

“I'm adding the final touches to tomorrow's speeches.”

Haymitch shook his head and closed his eyes in pain. Effie thought that he might be suffering from a headache.

“It's late. Go to bed”, Haymitch suggested in his usual harsh tone, but the escort didn't pay him any attention, so he pursed his lips in surrender and motioned towards the empty space to her left.

“May I?”

“Be my guest”, Effie offered with a grimace.

Haymitch fell heavily onto the sofa next to the woman, which made her tut, and he watched her for a few seconds while she re-read the speech for the umpteenth time. Then he brushed his hair out of his eyes and reached for the cards tentatively. Effie shot the mentor a suspicious glance, but she ended up handing him the papers. His grey eyes flipped through the sheets while he sipped from his glass. Effie studied the mentor's face, still unsure of his intentions. Then Haymitch put down the liquor and started to point out some things he liked and others he didn't, for her to reconsider the way to express them. To be honest, Effie didn't know what had made him change his attitude towards her work all of a sudden, but she kind of welcomed his collaboration.

When they finally were happy with the result, Haymitch nodded appreciatively and raised his glass as an invitation for a toast. Effie smiled at him and complied. It felt domestic, somehow, and she found herself enjoying his presence for a change.

The mentor took one last long sip and left his glass on the coffee table. Then he patted Effie's knee and got up slowly.

“Night, Effie”, Haymitch muttered and walked towards the sliding door.

“Goodnight, Haymitch”, she replied and started gathering all her things to go to bed herself. She paused for a moment and then added, “and thank you for your help.”

The man was already about to leave so he didn't even turn around, but raised a hand in the air to let her know he had heard her. When he disappeared, Effie raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

 _He can be nice_ , she thought absentmindedly right before leaving the bar car herself on the way to her bedroom.

 


	7. Stress, tension, anxiety

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place during the team's two-day stay at the Capitol right before the 74th Victory Ball.

Katniss, Peeta and their prep team arrived in the Capitol in the morning of the thirteenth day of the Victory Tour. They were given a luxurious four room penthouse at the greatest hotel in the city for their stay. Effie, Cinna and the rest of the team had their own places in the Capitol, of course, but the escort's job forced her to live with her tributes or victors during the Games and the Tours, so Effie had to stay at the hotel.

They were allowed to enjoy one and a half free days in the city before the Victory Ball took place the next evening, without any schedule -apart from going that very morning to Caesar Flickerman's studios to shoot Peeta's proposal so the presenter could have the footage on TV in the evening-. Effie volunteered to show them the most important things in the Capitol. The woman had arranged everything for Katniss and Peeta to be perfect, but she realized the young couple was very far from being happy, despite their engagement. They agreed to go with her to the History Museum that afternoon after lunch -while Haymitch paid a visit to the hotel bar-, but both refused to watch an opera in the evening, therefore they ate a light dinner without waiting for Haymitch to come back from the bar and went to bed.

Effie felt quite miserable due to their attitude. She sat alone in the opulent dining-room of their suite with a glass of Irish cream in her hand. Two avoxes started to remove the dishes from the table, but Effie stopped them: she imagined that Haymitch would be hungry when he returned and moreover, she thought it would be good for him to eat something that could absorb all the alcohol he had drunk. The two avoxes bowed and disappeared without a noise. The escort didn't know why she still cared for Haymitch, it must be something automatic. Then she heard the man open the door and close it behind him. He went straight to the dining-room and found Effie at the table.

“I thought you would be going to the Opera House tonight”, he said without any surprise in his tone. Of course. Haymitch already knew that Katniss and Peeta would refuse to attend. He didn't seem too drunk despite the amount of hours he had spent at the bar.

“And I thought you would be sober by now, given the circumstances”, she stroke back as he took a seat across from her at the table.

Haymitch didn't take offense at the comment but smiled and started to help himself to some seafood.

“You should come with us when we go out”, Effie scolded him.

“I don't like the Capitol and its stuff, you know it. I prefer to stay here where I can drink and sleep. Too bad I'm forced to go to the Ball tomorrow”.

“When are you going to act as a mentor, Haymitch? I can understand you are mad at the Games, but we are here to enjoy now. You aren't here to give away two kids to be killed on TV. It's a big difference.”

“No, princess, there's no difference at all. Anyway, this is no place to talk about it”, Haymitch decided to cut off the conversation.

“I just want some help from you, that's all”, the escort said losing heart. She still remembered the night he had helped her with the cards on the train, and how satisfying it had been for her to be able to count on him.

They fell silent. Haymitch didn't really know what to say. He understood Katniss and Peeta perfectly, but he could see Effie's point as well, though he never used to side with her.

“I spent nearly five months arranging the Tour for them” she continued. Haymitch had the impression that Effie was kind of putting her heart out to him. “I really care for Katniss and Peeta, I swear it.”

“Well, I know, and they know it too, but I think you should... give them their own space.”

“But I'm not allowed to leave them by themselves outside while on the Victory Tour and you know it”, the escort said to justify herself.

“Then let them decide where you bring them. This is difficult for them. It's a matter of perspective: everybody in the Capitol see them as two lucky teenagers in deep love. However, in the districts people see them as two unfortunate kids who survived the Games and became the puppets of the Capitol.”

Effie didn't say anything, but sighed instead. Her face was sad but still she took a gracious sip from her glass.

Deep inside, Haymitch felt sorry for her. Effie wasn't a bad person, all in all; she had just been raised up as any other Capitol citizen and it was very difficult for her to understand why district people couldn't enjoy massive parties or the Games as she did, but she tried sometimes. The mentor put down his fork slowly and got up, then went around the table to where Effie was seated and stood behind her. She stiffened a little when he placed his hands on her shoulders and started massaging them. Haymitch wasn't good at comforting people, but he remembered how he would have liked to have somebody by his side who could have shown him some affection in the worst days. After a few seconds he knew it had worked, because Effie's shoulders became less tense, she left her glass on the table and leaned back on him. The mentor kept on rubbing her shoulders for a while. Effie's contact was pleasant, but he knew the dangers of getting too attached to a Capitol woman. After a few minutes he said in his most soothing voice:

“When Katniss and Peeta get up tomorrow morning, offer them several possibilities and let them choose, alright? I will go with you three as well. But don't get angry if they decide to stay here: there's so much stuff in their minds right now.”

He sensed Effie's silent nod against his chest. After that, he squeezed her shoulders and advised her to got to sleep. The escort wasn't in the mood for disagreeing, so she stood up, thanked him in a very low voice and headed to her luxurious bedroom. Then Haymitch sat back at the table and went on eating his seafood.

Effie removed her make-up, took off her iridescent wig, undressed and put on her silky nightgown. Her movements were slow and careful, gracious and smooth. When she got into bed, the escort covered herself with the duvet and only then she let her mind wander. It always surprised her when Haymitch showed his tender side. There was still something human inside him that neither the Games nor his job as a mentor had been able to kill and Effie had to admit that she liked it. But that feeling was very dangerous. Some years ago, when the escort had started working with him, she promised herself that she would never let him notice her admiration for him since he had always been her favorite tribute and victor ever. As time went by, Effie realized that Haymitch was no longer the shadow of the great tribute she had admired in her youth: he had become a messy drunk man. It was true that Effie felt a jolt in her stomach anytime Haymitch treated her well, but she was already an adult and had long overcome her infatuation. Yes. They kept a formal working relationship and that was all. Her professionalism didn't allow her to consider anything else, though she had grown fond of him despite his bad manners or all the bickering. Effie's eyelids began to close. Plus Haymitch had promised to go with them the next morning and they would attend the Victory Ball in the evening. It would be a big, big day, no doubt.

When Effie fell asleep, a happy smile remained on her lips.

 


	8. The Victory Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again, now right at the end of the 74th Victory Tour: the Victory Ball.

The next morning, Effie woke up with renewed energy. There was something warm inside her chest, but she didn't know what it was: illusion, maybe; adrenalin, probably. She had a big, big day ahead. The escort whistled all the time while getting dressed. When she was ready, Effie went to the dining-room, where a copious breakfast was waiting for her. Everything was absolutely perfect.

After a while, Peeta showed up and joined her with a shy smile on his face.

“Hi, Effie. Good morning”, he greeted.

“Good morning, Peeta. I hope you slept well.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Do you know if Katniss is already awake?”, Effie asked tentatively. She may be sticking her nose where she didn't.

“She is. She'll be joining us in a minute.”

He had just said that when Katniss appeared to confirm his words.

“Morning.”

“Katniss, it's so good to see you. I hope you enjoyed your bed. I asked for a full viscoelastic mattress for my victors. It has lots of advantages if you sleep the way you-”, Effie informed.

“Yes, Effie. Thank you”, the girl cut her off.

“Alright, then. Well, now I would like to give you some options for today's visit”, Effie went on as she held out some pamphlets to them. “Choose the most appealing to you. But...” she made a dramatic pause and sighed “... if you want to stay here to rest, I will accept it.”

“Oh, that's very kind of you, Effie”, Peeta thanked her with a slight surprise in his voice.

“By the way, Haymitch said he was interested in coming with us. I'd better go fetch him while you decide.”

Then the escort left, so she couldn't see Katniss looking at Peeta out of the corner of her eye or the boy lifting his eyebrows in disbelief.

Effie arrived at Haymitch's bedroom and knocked gently. When she didn't obtain any response, she knocked louder, but with the same result, so the woman finally opened the door. A strong smell came up from the room and hit her nose: alcohol. The escort tutted and ventured inside.

“Haymitch?”, she called.

The mentor didn't even move. Effie approached him and shook his shoulder. Thanks to the corridor lights, she realized that Haymitch still had his previous day clothes on. At what time did he stop drinking last night? When did he go to bed?

“Hmm”, a muffled sound came from his mouth.

“Haymitch, it's time to get up. You promised to spend the morning with us, remember?”, Effie insisted.

He raised his head a little and half-opened his eyes to look at her.

“I didn't.”

“Oh, yes, you did. And you're coming, so get up, take a shower and get dressed. Now.”

Then the mentor stood on his elbow with some difficulties and took her hand all of a sudden.

“You could spend the morning with me”, he said getting tongue-tied.

Effie was taken aback and blushed. The mentor was clearly drunk. She freed herself from his grip and shouted: “Haymitch! Don't... insult me. If you aren't coming with us, fine, but don't make a fool of yourself.”

“Fine. I'm not going”, he confirmed and let himself fall into the bed again. Seconds later, he started snoring.

Poor Effie felt a wave of rage running through her veins, but she didn't feel like screaming at him. She felt betrayed and just wanted to cry. It was her fault: she shouldn't have trusted in him at all. The woman couldn't avoid some sobs escaping through her teeth, but she didn't mind because nobody was there to hear her, not even Haymitch, asleep as he was. Effie wiped two liquid pearls from her eyes with her fingertips, she recovered a little and exited the room closing the door behind her.

When she arrived at the dining-room -where Peeta and Katniss had chosen to visit the Presidential Park- she had a smile already plastered all over her face. Effie informed the couple that Haymitch wouldn't be joining them for the walk and urged them to take their coats since it was cold outside. Then they left the penthouse ready to enjoy the morning.

_ -oooooo- _

Although Katniss didn't want to admit it, she liked the Park. On their way back to the hotel, she and Peeta commented some fantastic things they had seen. The girl would have liked her sister and Gale to be there as well, to feed the squirrels or be amazed by some rare tree species. Effie was satisfied and thanked both teenagers in silence for their interest: she needed it.

They got to the penthouse at noon and they found their lunch ready on the table. Peeta was really hungry due to all the miles they had walked. He didn't understand how Effie had been able to follow their pace in her high heels. And she didn't even look tired. Certainly, she was a cut above the rest.

Surely their chatting woke up Haymitch, since he showed up at the dining-room just a moment later. His clothes and hair were a mess. It didn’t go unnoticed to Katniss and Peeta that Effie didn’t even look at him. It was quite odd, actually: reprimanding Haymitch was like the national sport to Effie. The man greeted them lazily and sat down next to Peeta, who started to tell him everything about the Presidential Park.

“Take it easy, boy. My head is about to explode”, Haymitch cut him off.

Silence settled down on the table for a few seconds, but then Effie resumed the conversation.

“Let’s plan our schedule for the next hours. As soon as we-”

“Oh, God, could you please wait until we’ve finished our lunch?”, the mentor asked rubbing his temples.

“No”, her answer was curt. “By the way, I ignored the word _please_ was in your dictionary”.

Haymitch looked at her frowning, half bothered, half surprised, and the same did Katniss and Peeta. The escort went on, addressing the kids again and not paying Haymitch any more attention.

“As I was saying, as soon as we finish our meals, Cinna, Portia and the rest of the stylists will drop by to help you with your clothes. You'll love your dress and hairstyle, Katniss. I made sure they included a braid headband for you.”

“That's great”, the girl claimed with a total lack of enthusiasm.

“Attitude, Katniss. Attitude!”, Effie warned her.

The rest of the afternoon passed without any incidents, except for Haymitch vomiting everything he had eaten since the previous night. The young couple got dressed with matching outfits: they were radiant and Effie loved the way they looked together. Peeta seemed to bloom when he put on his jacket and started to act as an elegant gentleman. As for Katniss, Cinna's designs kept getting better: her black dress shoulder pads were clearly inspired by bird's feathers, which gave the girl an ethereal look.

Effie chose a pastel lilac dress whose collar resembled a big tulle rose and a matching wig. She spent nearly three hours getting ready, but the effort was worth it, as everybody praised her for her decision. When Haymitch appeared she had to admit that he looked absolutely stunning in his silky vest and tailcoat. Effie even noticed that he had taken a shower and smelt nice.

“Wow, Haymitch. You look like Prince Charming”, Katniss said elbowing him in the ribs.

“Come on, come on, kids. It's getting late”, Effie interrupted and began to push them towards the door.

The whole team arrived at the Presidential Palace in two limousines, one for the three victors and their escort and the other for their stylists. Effie was the only one who couldn't remain silent during the trip. She explained lots of unimportant things to Katniss and Peeta, who knew she was far more excited than they. A huge amount of people was waiting for them at the entrance. Effie led the children through the gardens without looking back at Haymitch, who stayed at the fences to wait for Cinna. The mentor didn't want any attention for him, so he let Effie escort Katniss and Peeta.

Once inside the palace, he looked for a drink straightaway and found an isolated corner from where he could see everything without being in the middle of the party. Cinna followed him and used the solitude they were in to tell him that Plutarch Heavensbee himself attended the celebration.

“He would like to talk to you. If you don't mind, I'll inform him you're here.”

Haymitch nodded and took a sip from his drink. He knew they were playing with fire, but now that there was a chance to stand up to the Capitol, they couldn't waste it.

“By the way, Effie is very mad at you”, Cinna added.

“And when isn't she mad at me?”

“I'm serious, Haymitch”, the stylist answered without looking at him. “What did you do to her?”

“I didn't behave well, but there's no need to get like that”, Haymitch drank again. “I promised her I would spend this morning around the Capitol with her, Katniss and Peeta, but I got too drunk to get up. And I might have said something inappropriate to her as well”, Haymitch knew too well he had treated Effie bad: he really wasn't asleep when he pretended to be snoring for her to leave him alone, so he had heard the escort cry, but still didn't manage to find the strength to get up.

“You should try to help her, Haymitch. Effie cares for Katniss and Peeta, and you mean something to her. She would kill me if she knew I'm telling you this, because she hates when people notice her emotions, but I'm kind of friends with her and I would like you to make her work a bit easier”, Cinna tried not to sound too critical.

“Alright, alright. I will apologize. Sounds good enough to you?”, Haymitch asked lifting his eyebrows.

“Yes. That will do for now. Thanks.”

As if she had been summoned, Effie appeared to inform Cinna that one of Katniss's braids came undone. The stylist assured her he would fix it and headed to where Katniss and Peeta were trying every Capitol delicacy. Effie was about to follow him when she felt Haymitch's hand grab her by the elbow.

“Hey, wait.”

“What do you want? I'm working.”

“I know, but I need to talk to you”, Haymitch insisted without letting go of her.

“I don't think this is the right moment or place, do you? I have to keep an eye on Peeta and Katniss. I can't stay here talking to you, completely out of sight.”

“Then, let's dance”, he said without a second thought. The mentor slid his hand from Effie's elbow to her hand and grabbed it. After that, he dragged her to the dance floor.

“Haymitch, I don't feel like-”

“It's a tradition, isn't it? Mentors and escorts use to dance together. Nobody will be surprised”, Haymitch said staring at her. Effie doubted, so he resumed his request: “Do me a favor, sweetheart: don't make it more difficult. I just want to talk.”

The mentor stood there waiting for an answer. Then, Effie sighed and approached him reluctantly. She put her left hand on his shoulder and let him hold her right one in his, but she didn't break the distance between them.

“Alright, speak, quickly”, the escort demanded as they started gliding over the dance floor. Effie realized that she found Haymitch's proximity slightly intoxicating. She could feel the warmth of his right hand pressed against her waist.

“I'm sorry about this morning.”

“Good, you should.”

“I know it was a nasty thing to say and I'm not proud of it.”

They remained silent for a while after his statement. Then Effie asked with insecurity, “Do you hate me, Haymitch?”

The mentor frowned and shook his head.

“No, I don't hate you”, he said taking a step closer to her. “I'm mean to you -I'm mean to everybody, actually-, because I can't stand myself. I'm a selfish man and I defend myself from the world with a permanent attack and feigned indifference, you know. I meant it when I said I wanted to go with you three this morning, but I drank myself blind last night and I was a mess when you came fetch me.”

The man opened his heart to her with some doubts at the beginning, but once he started sharing, he didn't allow himself to stop.

“You could try to give up drinking. That would improve your quality of life and your mood.”

“I wish it was that easy, princess. I would need another life, some willpower and a detox, and we don't have any center at Twelve.”

“You could stay at the Capitol for that. They could help-”, Effie started to offer, but Haymitch cut her off.

“Don't insist, it's no use. This is what I've become. This is what they created. I'm sorry.”

Effie looked away and didn't say anything. Haymitch stared at her for a moment, then he curled up the corner of his mouth and said, “But I don't hate you, though you have the ability to drive me crazy. Rest assured that this Prince Charming would defend you in case anybody picked on you. We are a team.”

That time it was Effie who stepped a little closer to him, and he knew he had been forgiven. She shook her head pursing her lips to fight back a smile. Then Haymitch raised his eyes to Effie's hideous wig to tease her about it when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Plutarch Heavensbee and they broke apart, his hand still clutching Effie's when the new Head Gamemaker reached them.

“Mr. Heavensbee, what a pleasure to see you here”, the escort greeted him, a broad smile on her lips.

“Good evening, Miss Trinket, Mr. Abernathy. I'm sorry for the interruption. I was wondering if you could introduce me to your victors, Miss Trinket”, Plutarch requested.

“Of course, don't mention it! This way, please”, Effie instructed and she headed to where Peeta and Katniss were dancing too.

It seemed to Haymitch that she looked happier than before, so he felt relieved. He wasn't a bad person and he didn't want Effie to feel miserable because of him. The man stared at the escort as she moved away from him, followed by Plutarch Heavensbee, who turned his head midway to nod at Haymitch. The mentor nodded back: they would talk later, during Snow's speech, to set the next movements of the rebels.

Maybe Haymitch wasn't as selfish as he always wanted everybody to believe.

 


	9. Building bridges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we go with the prelude to the 75th Hunger Games. Snow asks Plutarch Heavensbee for advice and he decides to introduce a wrinkle: the Tributes for the Quarter Quell will be reaped from the existing pool of Victors. This chapter takes place right before the 75th Reaping.

The train arrived at District Twelve nearly two hours before the Reaping, as usual, for the workers to assemble the stage where the event would take place. The peacekeepers started to spread around the Justice Building, as well as the cameras.

Effie felt very nervous and scared, because for the first time in eleven years she didn't want to be there. At last she knew how people in the Districts felt about the Reapings, and that emotion was very dangerous: as an escort she wasn't supposed to empathize with district people. Like everyone all over Panem, Effie had watched the program where President Snow had announced the special characteristics of the Third Quarter Quell. She thought it was a nightmare. Effie remembered being at a party surrounded by other Capitol celebrities. Then President Snow had opened the fatal envelope, and the next thing she could recall was somebody gently patting her in the face, as she lay unconscious on a couch. Her three victors, her team, her friends would have to fight for their lives again in the arena. She didn't want to lose neither dear Peeta nor disobedient Katniss, as they were the first tributes she had been able to save and she had grown incredibly fond of them during the Victory Tour.

And, of course, she didn't want to lose Haymitch. Despite his manners and alcoholism, he was kind of a constant in her life. They'd been working together for eleven years and they'd been through so many hard times... Effie would even miss the bickering, but especially the friendly moments.

Would she be professional enough to conceal her feelings from the peacekeepers, from the audience, from President Snow? This was what the escort was wondering while she made her way through Twelve to Haymitch's house. At first, she told herself it was better not to visit her victors in order to make it easier for all of them. But then she realized she should check on Haymitch. Perhaps she could help him accept the idea of showing up at the Reaping instead of staying at home for the peacekeepers to fetch him. Therefore Effie made an excuse in front of the Head Peacekeeper to head towards the Victors' Village.

When she reached the place, the woman threw a sad look at Katniss's and Peeta's houses and tried not to imagine what they and their families would be feeling. Then Effie led herself to Haymitch's door and knocked. She remembered the previous year and couldn't believe how much everything had changed for them. Against all odds, Effie didn't have to wait for long this time: one minute later, the door half-opened and Haymitch's face appeared behind it in the shadows. He stared at the escort with resignation and then went back into the house, leaving the door open for Effie to enter when she felt like it. She bit her lower lip and followed him inside before closing the front door behind her back. Effie stood in the hall for a while, not sure if he wanted her there, but she finally went to the kitchen, where she knew Haymitch would be.

She found him seated in one of his kitchen chairs, his left hand on the table holding a bottle of whiskey. The woman leaned back against the counter twisting her gloves.

“Do you want some coffee?”, Haymitch offered under his breath.

Effie shook her head. She leaned forward to grab his bottle instead and took a sip right from it. Haymitch recalled the moment Katniss had arrived at his house after the announcement of the Quarter Quell and had done exactly the same. Effie returned the bottle to him and sighed.

“How are you?”, she asked in a whisper.

Haymitch didn't answer. He just shrugged and closed his eyes.

“I'm sorry, Haymitch.”

The man opened his eyes again to look at her. “I know, Effie. It isn't your fault.”

Haymitch hardly ever called her by her name. “I didn't want this to happen”, she went on. “I don't want to pick your names for the Games. This is so unfair and...”

“Be quiet. You have to do your job, alright?”, he demanded. “You have to sound as cheerful as always. Go back there, smile and be careful.”

Effie dropped her eyes to the floor, but she didn't move. The mentor gazed at her dress, full of butterflies, and he had a sense of foreboding: butterflies symbolized death, souls. How would they come out of that situation unscathed? Then he saw her approach the chair he was seated in. Effie put a gloved hand on his shoulder in silence and looked down at him. The man held her gaze for a second before saying:

“Remember that the next time we'll see each other, I won't be a mentor anymore, but a tribute.”

Effie gulped and blinked repeatedly to contain the tears that had started to form behind her eyes -she couldn't show traces of tears in her makeup on stage-, her hand still on the man's shoulder. Then suddenly Haymitch put his right arm around Effie's waist to bring her closer and rested the side of his head against her chest. The escort didn't see that coming, so it took her off-guard. At first she raised her hands as if somebody was aiming a gun at her and held her breath, but after a few seconds she relaxed and covered the free side of Haymitch's face with her gloved hand to comfort him. The man could hear Effie's fast heartbeats and somehow they sounded like music to him. They lost count of the time they remained in that position, the escort stroking his hair with her fingers.

After some minutes, Haymitch broke away and stared at her, but didn't say anything. Then he nodded for her to know he already felt quite better. He didn't want her to stay too long in his house. Maybe the Head Peacekeeper Thread was wondering where she was and if he caught Effie and Haymitch getting on too well, they would be even in more trouble.

The escort patted his shoulder one last time and turned around to leave. She arrived at the front door quickly and tried to calm down before going out. She had a tough task to fulfill and she must remain serene, as Effie-ish as possible. The escort raised her chin, took a deep breath and opened the door to go back to the Justice Hall.

The die was cast.

 


	10. The flat roof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is what happened when Effie and Haymitch said goodbye to Peeta and Katniss the night before the 75th Hunger Games.

Haymitch had never seen Effie cry so often in eleven years. He had even started feeling sorry for her. The escort always had her eyes full of tears lately: when she picked their names from the glass bowls, throughout the whole trip to the Capitol, when she saw Katniss in her wedding dress... So Haymitch tried to keep her away from them as much as possible to spare her some suffering. Besides, her display of emotions put her in great danger since the whole bloody Capitol had their eyes right upon them.

Effie stayed backstage during Katniss's and Peeta's interviews, while Haymitch and Cinna headed to their reserved seats among the rest of the audience. So when Peeta said there was a baby on its way, Haymitch knew how he would find Effie when he returned backstage. She was hyperventilating and fanning herself with her hand. The mentor looked for a lonely place and took her aside to tell her the baby stuff was a lie to stop the Games.

“Oh, thank God”, Effie said regaining her composure.

They went back together where the other mentors and escorts were waiting for their tributes. Then a man in a dark suit appeared and told them to lead their respective tributes to their suites and go to the Training Center meeting room within one hour, because he needed to have a talk with the escorts and mentors. The man was right under President Snow's instructions and he had been ordered to tell them the latest news on the celebration of the Games. Everyone in Panem was waiting for this decision.

When they reached the building, Haymitch let Effie lead Peeta and Katniss to the penthouse while he tried to find out something in advance talking to the other mentors. Effie tried to calm down the children before going to her bedroom to change clothes. She was determined to show her victors some support, so she put on her golden wig and a colorful dress, and then she left for the meeting room, where Haymitch was already waiting for her surrounded by some acquaintances. She sat down next to him and started wringing her fingers.

“How is it possible-”, Haymitch began to tease her when he noticed the new outfit she was wearing, but he stopped. “Never mind.”

The man in black entered the room escorted by two peacekeepers and announced the feared news: the Games would be celebrated anyway. President Snow was devastated due to Katniss's pregnancy, but his decision was irrevocable. After five minutes of protests and questions, the man left the room and every mentor and escort went back to their tributes to inform them.

Effie could barely talk because she got a lump on her throat, so she didn't say anything in the elevator and Haymitch respected her silence. When they opened the suite door, Effie asked for a minute and she disappeared inside her bedroom. Whatever she did, it didn't take her long, as she showed up after just thirty seconds. She was holding two black boxes in her hands and Haymitch thought that perhaps she wanted to give Peeta and Katniss some goodbye presents. If she knew about the rebellion... It was likely that she could never see them again, whether they died in the arena or not.

They found the children waiting for them in the living-room of the penthouse. They stood up with eagerness, but their eyes betrayed them: both Katniss and Peeta knew that nothing would prevent the Games from being celebrated. Haymitch confirmed it and then Effie gave her presents to the boys. Haymitch didn't expect it, that's why he sounded so ungrateful when he opened the box. He had completely forgotten about the matching tokens. Something melted inside his chest at the sight of the golden bangle and suddenly he understood Effie's change of clothes. That was the only way she knew to show her disagreement, her support: fashion. The escort broke down in front of them, she couldn't pretend anymore. After she hugged Peeta and Katniss, Effie apologized for everything, then she threw a heartbreaking look at Haymitch and left the living-room unable to fight back tears. The mentor hugged the kids as well and advised them to stay alive. After that he promised Katniss he would save Peeta. With his emotions on edge, it wasn't easy to lie to her. Rebels had made absolutely clear that everybody must keep Katniss alive, not Peeta. Haymitch would do his best to save him anyway, but he wasn't able to guarantee the boy's survival.

Haymitch left the young pair behind and, token still in hand, he went down to the fourth floor to say goodbye to Finnick. He felt a pang of guilt because he was about to give Finnick the golden bangle Effie had just gifted him, but it was necessary. They couldn't hang out for long, so District Twelve's mentor got quickly to the point: Finnick must wear his bangle in the arena to convince Katniss of their alliance. Haymitch wished the boy good luck, hugged him and went back to the penthouse.

Katniss and Peeta were no longer in the living-room when he returned, so the mentor supposed they would have locked themselves inside their quarters. Haymitch didn't feel like doing the same yet, so he went up to the flat roof to breath a bit of fresh air. And, to his astonishment, he found Effie up there. The escort had her back turned to the crystal sliding doors, so she didn't notice him behind her. Haymitch could see her shoulders shaking and he heard the noise of her sobs as well. He approached Effie and she turned her head to check who it was.

“I'm alright. I'm-I'm alright”, she stuttered wiping her eyes with her fingertips.

Haymitch put his right hand on her shoulder. He knew it was dangerous, since somebody could be watching them, but he couldn't see poor Effie crying like that. She was fully on their side by now, he didn't have doubts anymore.

Effie was truly upset, so she kept weeping harder and harder as time went by. She couldn't help it, she couldn't stop thinking about how unfair the situation was for her children.

“Come here”, Haymitch said when he couldn't stand her suffering anymore and he wrapped her in a warm embrace.

Effie didn't feel strong enough to resist, so she hugged Haymitch's waist and hid her face in the crook of his neck to give free rein to her tears. She felt his toned arms around her and in some way she thought everything would be okay.

“We'll take care of them, princess. I promise”, Haymitch assured her while he rubbed her back. He knew some promising plans he wasn't allowed to tell her, but his confidence would have to do the trick to comfort Effie.

The escort calmed down gradually. Haymitch kept rocking her silently until he sensed she was no longer weeping. He couldn't deny he liked the feeling of having Effie in his arms. The mentor knew she was tough and bossy, but now she looked so vulnerable... Haymitch stroked her nape with his fingers and he felt how Effie tightened her grip around his waist. After a few minutes, she stepped back and stared at the mentor as she let out a sigh. He raised a hand to caress her cheek and half-smiled, which made her smile a little as well.

“Oh, look at your T-shirt. I ruined it”, Effie regretted while she rubbed the wet and stained spot on his shoulder.

“I couldn't care less, sweetheart.”

Then Haymitch put an arm around her waist to led her back to the penthouse and Effie rested her head on his shoulder. They didn't know why that suddenly felt so right, but it did.

Both got inside and only parted ways when they arrived at Effie's bedroom. The escort squeezed his forearm in gratitude, then she disappeared behind her door. Haymitch stood there for a while rubbing his forehead.

And suddenly he realized he wouldn't be able to leave her behind.

 


	11. Welcome to the revolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter tells how our main characters ran away from the Capitol after the 75th Hunger Games. Movie-verse, so book canon divergence from now on.

It was late. Darkness had started to fall around the Capitol, but nobody dared to leave the scores hall. Every eye was fixed upon the screens that showed Katniss and Peeta kissing on the beach. Effie was seated next to Haymitch in a white couch. She let out a sigh before biting her lower lip and rested her hand on the mentor's forearm.

“They're too cute, aren't they?”, she asked, but it was rhetorical.

Haymitch couldn't look away from the children. That was a real kiss, perhaps the only real one he had seen between Katniss and Peeta. Somehow that one was different from the others and he noticed it. He felt a jolt of anger: how was he going to let Peeta die?

Then Johanna called them and she broke the spell. Suddenly something clicked in Haymitch's brain: Beetee had already explained the other tributes about the plan -the fake one in order to avoid Snow's suspicions-, so then it was when the group would head to the huge tree to carry it out. The mentor leaned towards Effie's ear.

“Listen to me. I need you to go up to the penthouse and lock the door. Wait for me at the flat roof, alright?”, he commanded.

“Haymitch, what-”, the escort started to ask, her eyes wide open, but he didn't let her go on.

“There's no time for explanations, sweetheart. Please, do what I told you. Don't leave the penthouse under any circumstances, just wait for me. I'll be there in a minute. Do you think you'll be able to do it?”

“Y-Yes, but I don't-”

“I know it's difficult to understand now, but it's vital that you follow my instructions, alright?”, he asked Effie. He knew he shouldn't be doing it, since he hadn't told anyone about Effie. He might be risking the whole bloody mission, but he was determined. After a while, he patted the side of her face and left presumably for the toilet.

Effie waited a few seconds before leaving as well, but she headed towards the penthouse instead. Her heart was pounding harder than ever. What did Haymitch want? It couldn't be of any good with all that secrecy. She got in the elevator and pressed the twelfth button with trembling hands. When she arrived at the highest suite of the Training Center hotel, she locked the door, just as Haymitch had told her to do, and went to the flat roof. Though it was summertime, the night breeze enveloped her, so she wrapped herself up in her shawl. Effie paced the floor impatiently, her anxiety increasing.

The escort didn't know how long she had been waiting when she heard a quick knock on the main door. At first she was tempted to open it, but then she thought that Haymitch had the key as well, so he wouldn't need to knock to get in. Then the knock became a bang and an aggressive voice shouted “Open the door to the peacekeepers!”. Effie's temples started to throb painfully and the only thing that came to her mind was that she was going to die. She curled up in a dark corner of the terrace and trembled, hoping for the peacekeepers to turn around and leave her alone. However, that didn't happen: the peacekeepers forced the main door open and burst in.

Poor Effie only wanted to scream. She heard some heavy steps going round the penthouse searching for her, for them. It was a matter of time before the guards found her. And of course it happened. A tall peacekeeper stepped out of the suite and spotted Effie cringing in her corner. He approached her yelling orders and grabbed her arm to make her stand up.

“Let go of me!”, Effie shouted showing more confidence than expected. “I'm a Capitol citizen. This is an abuse of authority!”

The peacekeeper didn't seem to be willing to release her and, though Effie resisted as much as she could, the man was stronger than her. He held the escort so violently by the waist that he nearly lifted her up and started to drag her inside the penthouse.

But, suddenly, something hit her captor from behind and he let go of Effie, who fell to the floor. She turned around just in time to see Haymitch handling a long metal stick. The peacekeeper quickly recovered from the first blow and aimed his gun at Haymitch. Fortunately, the mentor was faster and he hit the man's weapon with one of the stick ends, then he swung the stick again to break the peacekeeper's temple. The guard collapsed next to Effie and moved no more.

“Are you alright, princess?”, Haymitch asked while helping her on her feet. The escort threw her arms around his neck breathing heavily. Then she stepped back.

“Haymitch, did you... kill him?”

“You mean them”, he said pointing towards the penthouse living-room, where another peacekeeper lied on the ground unconscious. “No, but they aren't going to bother us in a while”, the mentor answered, dropping the stick.

“Where did you find that?”, Effie demanded.

“I always knew those ugly curtains would be useful someday.”

“Why did it take you so long to show up? I was losing my mind up here, and then this awful man found me... By the way, aren't there any other peacekeepers looking for us?”, Effie grabbed Haymitch's lapels to force him to answer.

“Calm down. Of course there are more, but I disabled the elevators and blocked the door, so they will have more troubles getting in here.”

“Why are we doing this, Haymitch?”, Effie started to shiver. “I'm very frightened.”

The mentor put his hands on her upper arms and rubbed them. “I know, but this is necessary. I'll explain you everything later, when we're safe, alright? Do you trust me?”

Effie stayed silent for a few seconds, but then she nodded.

“Fine”, he said with a sigh. Suddenly Haymitch heard the air moving above their heads and looked up to see a Capitol hovercraft approaching.

“What's that?”, Effie asked in fear.

“That, sweetheart, is salvation.”

Haymitch made Effie move backwards to make room for the hovercraft to land. Effie couldn't believe it, she knew the Training Center used to be surrounded by a protecting force field to prevent this kind of things to happen. Haymitch understood her puzzled expression and said, “The force field has been switched off. It was the only way to get out of here.”

When the ramp started to open, they heard a bang on the main door and they knew that the peacekeepers had reached the penthouse. Some seconds later the guards battered the door down and got in. Haymitch covered Effie's body with his own. Then the mentor helped her up the ramp, his body still working as a shield for her. The shooting started right when they were running up.

“Come on, come on!”, they heard the encouraging voice of Plutarch Heavensbee coming from inside the hovercraft. If he felt surprised to see Effie, he didn't mention it.

The Head Gamemaker held out his hand to grab theirs. The bullets flew over their heads. Once inside the hovercraft, Haymitch pushed Effie to the right and forced her to kneel down beside a huge metal box. Then he knelt next to her and shielded her body with his own.

“Take off! Now!”, Plutarch shouted addressing the pilots.

The hovercraft left the flat roof with the ramp still opened, so they could see the peacekeepers arriving at the terrace and aiming their guns up to knock them down. But, fortunately, it was too late for that. When the ramp closed a heavy silence ensued, only broken by Effie's attempts to regain her breath and Haymitch's shushing noises.

“Haymitch, we'll have a word later. Now you two calm down. We're heading to the arena. Beetee and the others are about to do it”, Heavensbee said and left them alone when Haymitch nodded.

The mentor knew they wouldn't have much time before everything happened, and they must be in place to accomplish the rescue, but he sat down against the hovercraft wall to breath and dragged Effie along with him until she was leaning against the wall too. She was still clutching his arm tightly, but her breathing rhythm was starting to slow down.

“Are you hurt?”, Haymitch asked her.

Effie shook her head with her eyes closed. She was regaining some composure. After a few seconds she said: “Where are we going?”

“We're going to save Katniss, Peeta and the other victors from the arena.”

“Really? And after that?”, Effie went on.

“We're heading to District Thirteen”, Haymitch explained. “The Capitol didn't raze it to the ground as they always made us believe. It still exists and their president's leading the rebellion against the Capitol.”

The escort didn't say anything for a while. Then she worked out something and expressed it out loud, her eyes wide open. “So that makes me a rebel now.”

“Yes, I suppose so. Exciting, isn't it?”

Effie let go of his arm slowly and got up staggering a little. Her expression was shocked.

“Therefore I will never be able to come back home”, she said staring at him.

“That place isn't home anymore.”

“But... but... Why did you...? How...? I-I never asked you to bring me along!”, she said.

“Oh, really, sweetheart? So perhaps you wanted to end up like Cinna, then”, Haymitch replied failing at not losing his patience.

“What happened to Cinna?”, Effie's face changed to show interest and ignorance.

“He was murdered. Your precious Capitol killed him two days ago for helping Katniss”, Haymitch shot. He must admit that Effie's attitude was making him feel a bit hurt.

Effie was stunned. It was as if Haymitch had hit her with his metal stick. She was left speechless at first, then she asked under her breath: “Are you... sure?”

“I am.”

“But... But we are Capitol citizens... They would never dare to do us any harm.”

“Wake up, Effie”, Haymitch said snapping his fingers twice in front of her eyes. “There are no longer Capitol citizens. We have two sides now: the rebels and the ones in favor of Snow's regime. And you've spent as much time with Katniss and Peeta as Cinna did, so what do you think it would have been your fate if you had stayed?”

The woman dropped her eyes and frowned in sorrow. As for Haymitch, he covered his face with his hands and let out a sigh. Suddenly he felt guilty for his brusqueness, but he didn't have time to apologize, as Plutarch Heavensbee came back and asked for Haymitch's help in the cockpit to begin with the victor's rescue.

“Miss Trinket, follow me, please. I will find you a comfortable place to stay during the trip”, Heavensbee told Effie, who looked at Haymitch helplessly before leaving for another cabin.

Twelve's former mentor shook his head, still a little annoyed. What a complex woman she was. He hoped he didn't have to regret his decision of saving her from the Capitol.

Somewhere deep inside he knew he wouldn't.

 


	12. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we start with Mockingjay – Part 1 (movie-verse). There must be a lot of moments between Effie and Haymitch during their stay at District Thirteen that remain untold. 
> 
> I noticed that they were closer at the end of Catching Fire, but I've got the impression that the next time they meet something gets back to normal between them, to teasing instead of intimating, so I think I should depict a little step back in their relationship to make a progress later.
> 
> Alright, I'll shut up. Read and enjoy. :)

When Plutarch Heavensbee went to Effie's quarters to inform her that Katniss had agreed to be the Mockingjay, the former escort showed as much dignity as she could, but both Plutarch and herself knew that she would agree to help Katniss. That was her job and she was the only one who knew the poor girl down there, apart from Haymitch, of course, and she hadn't seen him since they had arrived at District Thirteen. Effie was determined not to ask about him if he didn't show up, but she saw the opportunity to bring him up in front of Plutarch, and that was how she found out that Haymitch was drying out somewhere below her feet.

Effie met President Coin and criticized her looks internally. Then she shared her impressions with Plutarch. She had absolutely no doubt that the former Head Gamemaker was swallowing lots of things to maintain his position as a consultant, but he may be used to that already since he had always lived in the Capitol.

The best moment for Effie was when she reunited with Katniss at the canteen. The girl seemed happy to meet her as well and they hugged, which was the first and only sign of affection she had been shown since her arrival. Katniss was now the only family Effie had left.

And then, during the first propo shoot, Haymitch reappeared. He didn't say anything to Effie at first, just looked at her intently with a mischievous smile on his lips instead, and headed to greet Katniss. It was when the footage was all filmed and in the editing room that Haymitch finally addressed her.

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you doing?”

“Fine, thank you. I've spent a very nice time inside my cell”, she answered on her way to the meeting room, where the team had been given an appointment in twenty minutes to analyze the resulting video. Haymitch caught the irony in her words, but didn't make an issue of it. Then Effie approached Katniss and congratulated her on her acting skills to get rid of Haymitch, so the man already headed to the meeting room, since he knew Katniss felt uncomfortable in his presence as well. He should give her some time to forgive him for leaving Peeta behind.

Once in the room, none of them liked the propo. It sounded stilted and unnatural. Poor Katniss looked ashamed of herself: everybody was too harsh, too honest on her. Then Haymitch asked for some moments when everyone had loved Katniss for herself and Effie couldn't help but answering, and they ended up teasing each other like in the old times, almost flirting. Finally they decided to put the girl in the battlefield to allow some spontaneity from her, which Effie didn't really like.

When the meeting finished, Effie left Katniss and Gale in Beetee's hands to prepare the visit to District Eight and went to her quarters to change clothes to say them goodbye, but a hand grabbed her elbow and held her back. She turned around to face Haymitch, who still wore the same mischievous smile than before.

“So you're mad at me”, the man affirmed letting go of her arm then putting his hands in his pockets.

“No, Haymitch, I'm just annoyed.”

“Are you? Didn't they feed you or let you shower? Oh, I see, they didn't allow you to wear your ugly wigs, did they?”, Haymitch teased her.

Effie made a crooked face at him and said: “This place is insane. You brought me here and then you abandoned me. That's cruel, Haymitch. I'm surviving without coffee down here and I didn't hear anything from you in ages, so I-”

He tilted his head to look at Effie from another angle and confessed: “I missed you.”

“\- had to...”, she stopped her complaints abruptly. “What did you say?”

“I missed you. I thought you would come and visit me in the facility, but you never dropped by.”

“I-I didn't know where you were and-”, she defended herself.

“And you didn't ask either”, Haymitch cut her off. “I would have been happy to see you. It wasn't easy to go through the withdrawal alone, you know.”

Effie lowered her gaze and remained silent. She started to feel kind of guilty; she could be so selfish sometimes...

“I'm sorry”, she heard the words coming out of her mouth before she knew.

Haymitch got closer to her and held out his hand: “It's alright. Friends again?”

Effie raised her eyes to look at him and smiled slightly: “Have we ever been friends?”

“Never”, Haymitch confirmed and they both laughed. Effie covered her mouth with the back of her hand to show some decency and manners.

When they regained their composure, it was the former escort who held out her hand, but Haymitch didn't shake it, instead he took it as if Effie were a princess and brought it to his mouth. When he was about to brush his lips against her fingers, Haymitch paused to look at Effie's startled expression. He was too tempted to lick her hand, but suddenly he realized that he felt more like kissing it, and so he did. Effie held her breath as long as the kiss lasted, that was for three or four seconds. Then Haymitch let go of her hand and Effie breathed out. She blushed a little, which Haymith found funny, as he had never been able to see her real skin redden before under all the makeup she used to wear.

“See you at Command in a couple of hours to see Katniss spark off the revolution from District Eight?”, he invited Effie.

“Sure”, she smiled. Haymitch waved his hand and turned around, leaving her in the middle of the corridor as she rubbed unconsciously the point where the victor had kissed her hand.

 


	13. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any night during Effie and Haymitch's stay at Thirteen, Haymitch is having one of his nightmares.

The night after District Eight suffered the bombings that were intended to kill Katniss and the hospital patients, Effie confined herself inside her quarters to rest. She was exhausted due to the tension of watching Katniss back in danger through a screen, but she was partly satisfied of how it all ended: at least her girl was alive and President Coin praised her in front of the entire population of District Thirteen. Effie didn't see Haymitch during Coin's speech. She wasn't surprised however, as she knew Haymitch pretty well by then and she was sure he couldn't stand so much cheering and servility towards a leader, as he always said.

The former escort undressed, put on her standard grey nightwear and took off her headscarf before getting into bed. Effie spent some minutes looking blindly at the ceiling while her mind paid tribute to Cinna, the rest of their prep team -all dead as she had found out lately- and poor Peeta, whom they hadn't heard anything from yet. A silent tear rolled down her cheek into the pillow, then she sighed and curled up under the rough blanket to relax and forget.

When she was about to fall asleep, Effie suddenly heard a repetitive tapping, as if someone were knocking on a surface. She opened her eyes, still half-awake and she concentrated on the noise. It came from the room next to hers, where she knew Haymitch had been billeted. She started to perceive a panting as well, so she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. That must be one of Haymitch's nightmares again. It wasn't the first time she heard him yell, as they had known each other for long enough, but she didn't remember the tapping before, as if he were shaking badly, so she got up and put her headscarf back on just in case anyone was wandering through the corridors.

Effie went out of her room and headed to the one next to hers. She slid the door open just in time to hear a heart-rending scream coming from Haymitch's bed. She hurried to his side and verified he was trembling with violent spasms. His blanket was no longer covering him, but on the floor. The woman put her hand on his forehead and noticed he was colder than usual. Then she understood that he was having a nightmare and some problems going through the withdrawal all at the same time. Effie shook his arm gently, as she didn't want to make him jump.

“Haymitch”, she called softly, rubbing his arm to provide him some warmth. “Haymitch, wake up, it's only a nightmare.”

Suddenly, Haymitch woke up indeed. Everything happened in the blink of an eye: he grabbed Effie's upper arm in a harmful grip and dragged her towards him, then he sat up in a rush and clutched the woman's neck, staring at her with deranged eyes. She felt his fingers close around her delicate throat and held her breath.

“Haymitch, it's me, Effie. Please, don't hurt me... please”, she pleaded in a whisper, since she could barely breathe, her heart beating violently against her chest and her eyes watering.

The mentor's expression changed when he realized that he wasn't dreaming anymore. He was panting heavily. Then he let go of Effie's neck as if he couldn't believe what he had almost done. She stepped back cautiously, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Effie, I'm-I'm so sorry... I didn't want to... I was so...”, Haymitch tried to apologize, but he couldn't find the words. He was still very affected by his nightmare and upset by his nearly killing her.

The poor woman kept on getting away from his bed and when Haymitch tried to get up to make his excuses, she walked away from his quarters and hid inside hers. She had never been as afraid as she was then. Haymitch's bloodshot eyes piercing her while his fingers hurt her skin kept showing behind her eyelids. Effie felt sad and abandoned, because she knew that Haymitch would be feeling completely miserable, as he had never done anything to hurt Effie in all their years as a team.

Suddenly, she heard her door slide open and she knew it was Haymitch. Effie was still trying to calm herself down. She wasn't going to hold it against him, but it still was too fresh in her memory, so she curled up in her bed to face the bare wall of her room. Haymitch could see her shaking under the blanket. The victor approached Effie's bed and he dared to lie down behind her without asking. She stiffened when she felt his body so close to her back, but still didn't move. Effie couldn't believe Haymitch's brazenness. They had made things clear about being friends, but getting into her bed was far too much.

“Hey, sweetheart”, he tried as softly as he could, but she didn't answer. Haymitch hadn't touched her yet. “I'm so sorry, you have to believe me.”

Effie remained silent for a little while and then she said, “I do. It's just that I'm scared right now.”

Haymitch sighed in relief and decided to get closer to her. When his chest was pressed against her shoulder blades he put his right arm around her waist tentatively. He considered a very good sign that she didn't shake him off, so he passed his other arm under her neck for her to rest her head on it. Of course Effie wasn't going to get rid of Haymitch: she was so in need of affection, she had missed him so much those first weeks in Thirteen... Being wrapped up in the victor's arms was one of the best feelings she had experienced in her life and it felt both wrong and right at the same time.

“I don't know what to say”, he said in a rough voice. “I was having a nightmare and you know that I can't cope with them without alcohol, but of course that isn't an excuse.”

Haymitch's voice sounded defeated, as if he thought he was useless. Suddenly he sensed a tiny drop splash against the arm he kept under Effie's head: she was crying and that made him feel even more dejected.

“Don't cry, please. I never intended to hurt you, I swear it.”

“I know, Haymitch. It's okay”, she assured him, patting the arm he kept on her belly.

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“Stay tonight”, she said against all odds still staring at the wall. “But don't get used to it”, Effie went on as if knowing she may be asking for too much.

“I wouldn't dare to dream, princess”, Haymitch said smiling at last.

“And, for the record, I'm not angry with you, Haymitch, just a little scared and sad.”

He understood her feelings perfectly, but he was also glad somehow, because everything was back to normal between them. Haymitch tightened his embrace on Effie in gratitude and maybe something more. He couldn't explain why he was so worried all of a sudden about her wanting to run away from him. There had been a time when he had wished for her to leave him alone for good, but things had changed a lot and, deep inside, Haymitch thought that he might be starting to feel something for his former escort. Or perhaps the feeling had always been there and the current situation was just triggering some reactions, he didn't know for sure. How funny and inappropriate was that?

“Did I hurt you?”, he asked suddenly.

“No, don't worry. I may have some bruises tomorrow, but I'm fine.”

Haymitch rubbed Effie's neck with his fingers and he could tell she liked the contact because her whole body shivered and relaxed in his arms. Then she asked, “What was your nightmare about? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not tonight. I'll tell you about them someday, I promise. Now sleep, sweetheart. I'll be watching your back, I owe you.”

Effie smiled to herself. She felt better with Haymitch hugging her. Why was she so sure that he wasn't going to hurt her while she was sleeping? She just knew. And how had she come to need his company so badly, after all their years of bickering and shouting at each other? Effie would have to answer those questions the next morning since she didn't have the strength to do it at the moment. With Haymitch's breath warming her nape she fell asleep sooner than ever.

As for him, Haymitch didn't want to explore his own feelings deeper, because he knew that wars weren't exactly the rightest of times to get attached to people.

 


	14. Time bomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place the night District Thirteen is attacked by the Capitol.

Poor Peeta looked even worse than the last time he had been on air. His eyes were red and puffy, and his face was drained of color. He had been poorly made up for TV, though it could have been just on purpose to show his bad state, Haymitch thought. Katniss stormed in Command with Boggs and was taken aback, her eyes watering. Her former mentor felt truly sorry for both Katniss and Peeta, as he had grown very fond of them, though he had never admitted it out loud. Peeta's speech didn't change at all: the Capitol had turned him into a puppet through torture, clearly, but Haymitch wondered if the boy might still be trying to protect Katniss.

Then Beetee interfered with the Capitol transmission and launched the video with Katniss in District Twelve's ruins for everyone in Panem to see. Then Peeta's voice changed to a terrified one and he warned Katniss that she was in great danger even in District Thirteen. Everybody who was in Command saw some hands grab Peeta to take him away and the video ended. Truth be told, living in a military district had its advantages when it came to war threats. As soon as Haymitch translated Peeta's words into a warning of a possible attack, President Coin didn't lose any time and ordered an air-raid drill.

Everyone started to move, even Katniss left Command to obey Coin's orders. Haymitch's first thought was to follow her to make sure she arrived safe and sound at level 40, but then he remembered Effie and froze. If there was anyone who was going to need his help to reach the bunker that was Effie. He imagined her in her room trying to fix her headscarf or picking up all her spare clothes as if she were going on vacation, and then he rushed towards her quarters. The air-raid siren got painfully stuck in his head as he ran towards her door. Haymitch slid it open and he saw exactly what he expected: Effie was stuffing her last Capitol clothes in a grey military bag. Haymitch supposed that nobody had forced her to get rid of the dress she was wearing when they arrived at District Thirteen, so she had kept it.

“Effie, what the hell are you doing?”, Haymitch asked approaching her in a hurry and grabbed her arm.

“I need to save my things because it's the only stuff I have left of my past self”, she answered with conviction.

“Leave it there if you want to save your damn present self!”

Haymitch snatched the bag from her and threw it on the bed, then grabbed Effie's hand and headed to the door disregarding her complaints. They went out into the corridor, still hand in hand, Haymitch leading the way, but he noticed that Effie's pace was too slow and turned his head to check on her, as she may be hurt or too scared to react. At first he wasn't able to find out what was happening, because Effie looked frightened, but collected, and it wasn't until they reached the emergency staircase that Haymitch realized that she was wearing her impossible heels. He stopped dead and stared at her in disbelief.

“Shit! I can't believe it! Get rid of those now!”, he shouted.

“But, Haymitch, I can go downstairs in heels. There's no problem for...”

“Of course it's a problem! We have to reach level 40 in two minutes. Do you understand that we are under attack? You'd rather lose those heels than your life, wouldn't you? Take them off!”, he ordered, but Effie crossed her arms in front of her chest and didn't move. “Alright, you had it coming, sweetheart”.

With a very fast movement, Haymitch crouched down and grabbed Effie's waist, then tossed her over his shoulder. The former escort started to scream at him, but Haymitch held her legs against his chest and removed her heels from her pantyhosed feet with his other hand. He threw them away while Effie tried to free herself from his grip and he rushed down the stairs with her still on his shoulder. The steps were made in iron and might be uncomfortable for Effie's bare feet.

People hurried down the staircase around them as grey lightnings. Some hit Haymitch in their evacuation. When they were going past level 35, the first bomb landed somewhere up there and whole District Thirteen shook. Most of the people screamed, Effie included. Haymitch held on to the handrail with one hand and squatted, his heart racing. A heavy rain started to pour over them through the ceiling cracks as the lights flickered. The victor stood up quickly and made his way towards level 40 without speaking: he was beginning to feel exhausted and didn't want to lose any more strength. Some seconds later, they arrived at the blast doors and Haymitch put Effie down at last, but he grabbed her elbow right away and ran towards the bunker pulling her along. The countdown still resounded in their ears, but they were momentarily safe though soaked to the skin.

“Effie, listen to me. Search for a corner and sit there”, Haymitch instructed with his hands on the sides of her face. “I'm going to check on Katniss and I'll be right back.”

The woman nodded and watched him walk away from her. She was about to do what she had been told when another bomb hit the surface. Effie crouched down against a bunk bed with a scream. She was hyperventilating when she managed to get on her feet again. She approached a wall with trembling hands and followed it until she found the nearest intersection, where she sat down and covered her head. She heard the end of the countdown and the voice announced that the blast door had been sealed. Effie hoped that Katniss was alright. Then another bunch of explosions shook the underground city and the woman started to rock back and forth. People tried to comfort their loved ones all around her.

Suddenly, Effie caught a glimpse of a soaked, dark, woolen jacket and she knew Haymitch was on his way. He reached her corner and crouched down beside her with his hands full of stuff.

“Katniss is alright. How are you doing, sweetheart?”, he asked in his lightest tone, leaving a pair of blankets on the ground, together with two lanterns and a grey bag. “These are our welcome packs. How kind of them.”

When another bomb hit the land above, Haymitch leaned in and covered Effie with his own body. That first attack was followed by at least nine more. At some point, lights went off and Haymitch pulled away from Effie to switch on one of their lanterns, as so many others did. The victor took off his jacket because it was too wet and he was starting to get cold.

“Untie your headscarf and remove it”, he told her. “Then wrap you up in this blanket.”

“I'm not letting everyone see my hair, Haymitch! It's so out of fashion”, Effie responded in her strongest Capitol accent.

“Nobody cares about your hair, sweetheart! Do you prefer to catch a cold? I don't think a runny nose is very fashionable, either.”

She sighed in annoyance and finally took off her headscarf and let her strawberry blonde hair down while Haymitch unfolded the blanket. When he raised his eyes he stopped dead at the sight of her. It was the first time in eleven years that he saw Effie's natural hair. And he liked it, oh yes. The victor couldn't help but reach for a wet lock and comb it with his fingers.

“Haymitch...”, she pleaded quite embarrassed. He noticed that her cheeks had turned dark pink.

He apologized and held out the blanket to her. Haymitch noticed that his heart was racing inside his chest. How inconvenient. He took off his beanie as well, as it was soaked, and shook his head to dry his hair a little, then he ran a hand through it.

“Why don't we have a bunk bed, just like the others?”, Effie asked while wrapping herself up in the blanket.

The next blast made the ceiling crack a little more and silenced Haymitch's answer. New screams filled the air. When the echo stopped, the victor said, “We do, but I think it's safer to curl up against a corner than sitting on a bunk bed when a whole underground city is shaking.”

Effie nodded as Haymitch sat right beside her, their shoulders touching. Speaking of shaking, the woman was trembling like a leaf at the mercy of the wind. Haymitch noticed it when his arm brushed against hers. He didn't have time to react, because another explosion hit the ground and Effie threw herself into his lap panting heavily. The victor didn't hesitate to rub her upper arm over the blanket comfortingly. Effie looked so helpless with her head on his thighs... Haymitch felt sorry for her and a flash of guilt crossed his mind for having dragged her to Thirteen, but then he remembered Cinna and Portia and the guilt disappeared. Better scared than dead, no doubt. Nobody knew how the night would end yet, but there were more chances for Effie to survive in Thirteen than in the Capitol.

They spent the rest of the air-raid in that position, Effie covering her head with her arms every time a bomb reached any spot of the district's surface and Haymitch rubbing her back and rocking her. After half an hour of silence, everybody considered the bombing concluded. Nobody said it out loud, but everyone knew it tacitly. People started to move and talk more confidently. Effie still remained on Haymitch's lap for a while, his fingers daring to play with her hair, which wasn't wet yet, but still damp. He wondered where insensitive Haymitch had gone. How long had he been caring for this Capitol woman without even noticing? How had she been able to knock down the wall he had spent more than twenty years building around his soul? How was he supposed to deal with something like this, with feelings for a woman whom he would never be able to be in a relationship with? He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Then Effie sat up and leaned against the wall. She glanced at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“What a night, dear”, she said trying to regain her haughty self.

Haymitch snorted and shook his head in amusement. For a second, she turned again into the Capitol woman he knew so well. One moment she was completely terrified and the next she looked self-confident again. Effie frowned, but her expression softened again when Haymitch rested his hand on top of hers and patted it.

“Do you want to look for your bunk bed now?”, the victor asked.

Effie considered his offer, but she declined it. “I don't think I will be able to walk right now. My legs are still trembling.”

“I could help you.”

But she turned down his proposition again. “No, it's alright. The only problem is that this place is too cold. I'm freezing.”

“I think I've got the solution for that, but don't get mad at me, sweetheart.”

Effie frowned again. Haymitch picked his blanket from the ground and wrapped himself up in it. He could have been happy with holding it out to Effie, which would have been the normal thing to do, but his idea went further than that and he refused to ask her because he didn't want her to reject his help once again. Then the victor slipped an arm around her waist and dragged her towards him until Effie was pressed right against his chest and stuck between his legs.

“Haymitch, what are you doing?”, she hissed, her body completely tense.

“I'm going to keep you warm.”

“People are watching us”, Effie insisted.

“They don't care about us. Just relax and rest. You look exhausted and I just noticed that you have some old-fashioned, dark bags under your eyes...”, he teased.

“Ugh, you're a horrible man.”

But Effie leaned back against him and her muscles relaxed bit by bit. Haymitch hugged the woman so both her blanket and his covered her, and she didn't protest. She reclined her head on his shoulder, her locks tickling his cheek, and remained silent for a while. They heard noises around them, as people were getting ready to spend the night inside the bunker as comfortably as possible: some played with their lanterns, others searched for their beds... Everybody was still frightened, but district people were tough and always tried to look on the bright side of things to raise their spirits, no matter how harsh life was on them.

“Thank you.”

Haymitch suddenly heard Effie's voice next to his ear. Her tone was quite sleepy, so he looked down at her face to check if her eyes were closed. They were indeed, and he felt her breathing getting deeper. The victor sighed and dared to press his lips against the side of her head. Then he muttered against her skin, “You're welcome, princess. But don't get used to it”, and kissed her temple softly.

Effie, half-asleep as she already was, never knew if it was real or a dream, but she surrendered to sleep with a sweet smile on her face.

 


	15. If only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After their night inside the bunker, Katniss is asked for a propo, but she realizes that Snow means to kill Peeta and she can't shoot it. Coin decides to send a team to retrieve the imprisoned victors.

Haymitch couldn't blame Katniss for leaving the propo shooting. The scene was macabre, with all those white roses lying everywhere. Both he and Effie had tried to comfort her, Haymitch with a fatherly hug -after he had felt Effie's hand on his back pushing him slightly towards Katniss- and the Capitol woman by following her in right away. They were very fond of Peeta as well, they were still a team, almost a family. When Haymitch managed to soothe an angry Cressida, he left the rocks too and got inside to search for the girls. He found them halfway down the stairs, Katniss bent down over her own vomit and Effie rubbing her back. The former escort looked at him as he approached them, her lips pursed and her eyes blurred by the tears.

“He's gonna kill Peeta... He's gonna kill Peeta...”, Katniss kept saying in a strangled voice.

“We won't let that happen”, Effie assured her still stroking her shoulders.

Haymitch sighed. He put one hand on each girl's waist and rested his forehead against Katniss' crown for a moment while Effie leaned hers against his shoulder, then the man shot a glance towards Effie before going down the stairs straight to Command.

The victor stormed in the room and headed to where President Coin was standing. At the sight of his expression, Plutarch approached him to put a brake on his advance. The former Head Gamemaker grabbed his arm gently to warn him, but Haymitch freed himself and addressed Coin:

“We need to get Peeta out of the Capitol”, he spat.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Abernathy, but now we aren't in the position to...”

“Katniss isn't going to shoot any more propos. She can't, she's devastated because Snow is playing with her feelings. It's enough what we're making her go through. You will lose your Mockingjay if you don't send a group to rescue the victors, Ma'am. And I'm not sure you could find another one in time to win this media battle.”

Coin shot him a calculating stare. Then suddenly Boggs got in the room and spoke from behind Haymitch's back, “We could send a little group, Ma'am, only formed by volunteers. It could work.”

Haymitch nodded in gratitude towards the soldier.

Plutarch took a step closer to enter their visual field and contributed. “The Capitol's defenses are down now, as Beetee told us. If there's a chance to retrieve the prisoners, it must be this one.”

President Coin looked at the three men alternately and said: “Alright. I will authorize the mission only if you lead the team, Boggs. It's a great responsibility and it's going to be dangerous.”

“I'm ready, Ma'am. Everything will be arranged in no more than two hours”, the soldier promised and left Command, followed by Haymitch, who missed a good drop of whiskey at that moment.

The victor went upstairs again to see if Katniss and Effie were still there, but there was no trace of them. He even went back to the rocks, but Cressida and her team were also missing, so Haymitch headed to Katniss's room to inform her that there was a rescue mission on its way. He hoped that the information would cheer her up a little. Katniss was nowhere to be seen, though, so after an hour and a half looking for her everywhere he thought she could have hidden, the man gave up on searching. Then he headed to the canteen to make himself a tea, if possible, and there he found Effie, sipping from a mug.

“Did they leave yet?”, she asked when she spotted him.

“No. They're getting ready”, Haymitch answered while heating up some water in a tea machine. “I heard the Hawthorne boy volunteered. He will make a great soldier, I guess.”

“Absolutely. But he's doing this for Katniss. He is deeply in love with her”, Effie sighed.

“I know, sweetheart. I'm not that blind”, he retorted and Effie rolled her eyes in disbelief. Haymitch went on, oblivious to it. “What I can't get is Katniss' attitude. She gets along very well with this boy, anyone would tell they're together, but she can't function without Peeta.”

Effie waited for Haymitch to sit next to her with his own mug of tea to say, “She loves Peeta as well. Love is a complex thing.”

“Come on, you can't love two people at the same time. What's the point? Having feelings for just one person drives you crazy enough...”, he stated. Suddenly, the man realized he could have gone too far by using the present tense.

“There's no point. You don't get to choose who you love, Haymitch. You're so thick sometimes”, she said losing her patience as Haymitch narrowed his eyes. “That's why Katniss is always so stressed. She loves both boys and she doesn't know what to do. She needs them both to be happy, but she's aware that she's hurting her two best friends. At some point she will have to choose, if this war doesn't do it for her...”, Effie said and then she fell silent.

Haymitch didn't say anything else for a while. He knew that Katniss was fighting her own war inside her heart. She wasn't very good at speaking about feelings, and Haymitch understood her perfectly, because they were very alike in so many things. If he had had a daughter, she would have probably been like Katniss, he thought. And he didn't know where that idea had come from, but it hurt. The victor dropped his head and ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly, Effie's hand reached for his fingers. Haymitch didn't resist and let her hold his hand. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb softly, without looking away from them. Effie eventually leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. They remained in that position for a few minutes, still rubbing each other's hands, until Effie raised her head a little to stare at him. Haymitch held her gaze with his face mere inches away from hers, and then he shot a glance at her lips unconsciously.

And suddenly they heard someone's steps and they pulled away. Effie took a sip from her tea.

“Ah, there you are”, Plutarch's voice reached them. “The team is ready to depart. I thought you might want to say goodbye.”

Both Effie and Haymitch nodded, their minds far far away from District Thirteen. They stood up and followed Plutarch to the hangar. Haymitch was too aware of Effie's presence by his side. Heavensbee kept talking about the mission details all their way up, but the victor wasn't paying too much attention. The three arrived at the hangar when President Coin was giving the last instructions to the group of six brave soldiers who volunteered to rescue the victors. The soldiers' loved ones were there as well to cheer them on. Haymitch spotted Primrose Everdeen next to Gale and he saw the chance to ask her about Katniss. The girl explained that her sister didn't want to be found for the time being, as she needed to be alone, but Haymitch assured her that he only meant to inform her about the mission, so Primrose ended up revealing Katniss' hideout: the Mockingjay had hidden herself inside a narrow passage used to conceal the pipes.

Haymitch waited for the team to depart to leave the hangar in search for Katniss. He wasn't sure if he had to say something to Effie. Those things were too difficult for him, so the victor headed to the elevator, but he heard some footsteps behind his back and turned his head to see Effie trying to chase him.

“Did you find out where Katniss is?”, she asked while stepping in the elevator after Haymitch.

“Yes, I'm gonna give her some hope.”

“Will you be at Command later?”

Haymitch operated the machine and faced her. “Yes, sweetheart, but I don't want you there. Coin can't be happy with me today because I wasn't very polite to her earlier. I don't think she's in the mood for having you at Command. Besides, I prefer that you don't witness the rescue. If everything goes well, I'll let you know, but if it doesn't...”, Haymitch didn't want to say the words 'Peeta' and 'die' in the same sentence, so he chose not to finish it.

Effie took a deep breath and held his gaze. Then she put a hand on his forearm and squeezed.

“Alright. I'll see if there's anything I can do while I wait for the news.”

There was another awkward moment between the two as the elevator reached the level they were going to. The silence was so thick that it could be cut off. Effie's hand remained on Haymitch's arm during the ride. A few seconds before the elevator door opened, Haymitch leaned in, determined to hug her, or touch her, or kiss her... but then the elevator stopped and the door opened. They were greeted by the district's daily noise and the bubble broke. Haymitch cast a last glance at Effie, whose expression seemed kind of longing, and left to search for Katniss.

 


	16. The rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in District Thirteen is waiting for the rescue team's arrival. When the victors are finally safe, Peeta tries to kill Katniss and it's clear that his memories of the girl have been altered to make him a deadly weapon.

“Did I lose them both tonight? Did I lose them both tonight?”, Katniss kept saying while she hugged Haymitch. The man tried to calm her down making shushing noises and stroking her hair. He suddenly felt like a father to Katniss, and it wasn't the first time. The girl went on weeping on his shoulder for a while, mussing incoherent things from time to time. Everybody at Command looked at them with pity, even President Coin. Then Katniss pulled away and stared at Haymitch's face barely focusing. He patted her cheek affectionately and let her leave Command. He understood she might need to be alone.

“I will try to reestablish a connection with them, but I'm sure by now that the Capitol will have inhibited their signal”, Beetee said.

Haymitch addressed Coin. “If you don't need me, Ma'am, I'm leaving as well.”

The President nodded at him and the victor went out. He headed to Effie's quarters to inform her of what had happened, but she wasn't there. Haymitch frowned and he was about to leave when he heard some quick footsteps behind his back. He turned his head and saw Effie almost running towards him.

“Haymitch! What happened?”, she asked grabbing his arm. “Everything went black suddenly and everyone is speculating”.

“Wait, what are you talking about?”, he asked back. “Where did you see it? I told you not to watch the mission.”

“I couldn't help it. There are some charming soldiers in level 24 who let me have a look at the screen”, she explained. Haymitch's stomach twisted. “We saw the team break into the Training Center in the darkness, and then the lights were switched on and the screen stopped showing images.”

“So you didn't hear the conversation between Katniss and Snow...”

“What?”

Haymitch pushed her inside gently and slid the door shut. They sat on her bed next to each other and the victor told her everything he had witnessed at Command. Effie gaped, swallowed and put her hand on her chest to prevent her heart from breaking her ribs while he talked. When he finished, Effie fell silent and covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a sigh.

“Poor Katniss”, Effie muttered behind her fingers. “She must be devastated.”

“She is. And the worst part is that she might have lost both Gale and Peeta tonight.”

“Don't say that, Haymitch! Don't even mention that possibility”, the woman looked at him intently and clutched his jacket. “We aren't going to lose Peeta.”

“Alright, sweetheart. Alright”, he conceded.

Then Effie locked arms with him and rested her head on his shoulder. Haymitch had no longer the strength to resist, so he leaned in to rest his cheek on Effie's headscarf knot and he remained in that position for a while, listening to her breathing and heartbeats, his personal lullaby. The victor felt the warmth of her hand on his forearm and intertwined his fingers with hers. They could only wait for news, nothing else could be done, and as strange as it may seem, that gave them some peace. Effie's anxiety fluctuated from time to time, but she found comfort in Haymitch's touch. When her nervousness decreased, her eyelids grew heavier and she even closed her eyes once or twice. Haymitch noticed it and, since they hadn't moved for more than half an hour and his back was starting to ache, he told her to go to bed.

“How am I supposed to sleep?”, she asked rubbing her eyes, trying to wipe away the exhaustion.

“You're tired. Lie down at least. I'm gonna check on the news. I'll be back in a minute.”

“I should go and comfort Katniss”, the woman said suppressing a yawn with her hand.

“She doesn't need us now. There's nothing we can do for her. You know Katniss: she's a lone wolf and she suffers on her own. She may find some relief in Finnick's company tonight, but I don't even count on it.”

“She's like you”, Effie commented casually while fluffing her pillow.

Haymitch didn't know whether his mind took that statement as a challenge or not, but he suddenly leaned in, rested his hand on Effie's shoulder and kissed her cheek softly, as if afraid of breaking her. The peck lasted only one second, and when Haymitch pulled back he stared at Effie, who smiled at him and squeezed his hand. The victor caressed her cheek with his fingertips and then left her room.

Haymitch was surrendering to his necessity of Effie. Perhaps he shouldn't get carried away by his feelings, but a kiss on the cheek was something friends did, right? He had seen Effie kiss both her male and female Capitol friends a thousand times in the past. The victor stopped in the semidarkness of the corridor and leaned against the closest wall, then rubbed his temples and focused on the situation. Haymitch had other priorities in mind -Katniss, for instance-, so he resumed his way to Command, back in his sarcastic mood and rude attitude.

As for Effie, she shook her head to stop thinking, but she couldn't help that a small smile reached her lips, as it always happened to her when Haymitch showed her any kindness. Did it make any sense at all? With a yawn, she lied down on the bed and she must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing she was aware of was that people were making noises outside her quarters. Running footsteps, worried conversations... Something had woken her up in the middle of the night and Effie didn't know what time it was. Haymitch was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he had come back to her room at some point because the bed next to hers was unmade and she was wrapped in her blanket, and she didn't remember having covered herself with it. The former escort got up and fixed her headscarf and uniform before poking her head round the door.

“Excuse me, ma'am, could you tell me what's happening?”, she asked politely to a woman in grey who rushed past her room.

“The rescue team came back about twenty minutes ago. They took the victors to the hospital.”

Effie didn't have the chance to ask again, as the woman left at full speed. She slid her door shut and followed her. Effie's heart pounded nervously inside her chest. Would they have rescued Peeta in time? She arrived at the crowded hospital wing where the victors were being taken care of and spotted Peeta's photograph on a screen -he looked awful-, then she headed to his room. She heard some noises behind the door, and when she was about to get in, there was a loud bang. Effie opened the door to find both Peeta and Katniss passed out on the floor, Boggs holding a shovel and Haymitch bent over Katniss, his hand on her neck as if checking her pulse.

“Effie, get out of here”, Haymitch told her.

“What...”, she tried to articulate, just in vain.

She stepped forward to kneel beside Katniss and Peeta, her hands shaking, but then Haymitch said “ _Fuck_ ” out loud, stood up, grabbed her upper arm and took her out of the room. At that very moment, Plutarch and Coin reached the place and Haymitch shot them a worried look, but he didn't stop to talk to them. The victor led Effie to an empty room. She was breathing too fast and couldn't understand why Haymitch was taking her away from the children. When they got in, he made her sit down on the bed.

“What happened, Haymitch?”

He took off his beanie and ran his hand through his hair, then flinched a little as if he were in pain. He started pacing the room to calm himself down and said:

“I don't know. They did something to Peeta. He has tried to kill Katniss.”

“That's impossible!”, Effie shouted.

“I know what I've seen. He was about to strangle her when Boggs hit him with a shovel.”

“Did he get hurt?! Was it necessary, really? I think there's already enough suffering on his résumé without anyone hitting him with a shovel! Perhaps he didn't know what he was doing!”, she complained getting on her feet.

“Well, perhaps we should have let him kill Katniss! I tried to get him off her without violence, but he's stronger than me, sweetheart”, Haymitch answered showing her his left palm before taking a seat on a chair right opposite her. A large cut ran across the front of his hand. She gaped and stepped closer to him, then took his hand in hers to check the seriousness of the wound. Haymitch felt her skin on his and it sent some electricity through his veins.

“Does it hurt?”, she asked. “Let me take care of it.”

Effie approached a cabinet and looked for some medicines inside it.

“It does, but I don't mind. Don't bother to fix it, Effie. It's a reminder of what I didn't do to save Peeta from the Capitol”, Haymitch explained quite downcast. He threw his beanie on the bed.

“Oh, don't be ridiculous. Is it going to help Peeta heal that you lose your hand due to an infection? I won't stitch it up, I wouldn't know how to and I might faint even before unpacking the needle. But I can clean it.”

Effie picked gauze and a bottle of antiseptic and closed the cabinet.

“Not Capitol medicine, but I guess this will have to do the trick. Wash your hand over there”, she ordered pointing at a sink.

“You've missed this, haven't you, princess?”, Haymitch asked offering a flirty smile while pouring some water over his palm. “Being bossy, I mean.”

“Don't push your luck, dear. I'm holding gauze”, Effie joked, but without putting her whole heart in it. She was too worried for the children to allow herself to feel any happiness. “Sit down.”

Haymitch did what he had been told and stared at her focused face. “I like this side of you, you know: the confident Effie Trinket”, he paused to tickle her side, so she spilled some antiseptic on the floor and clicked her tongue in disapproval, but Haymitch could see the little smile fighting to show at her lips. “You are like a fish out of water here. I'm sorry.”

“I'm safe here. And I'm with the kids. I suppose that's what really matters”, she said shrugging, a very not Effie-like gesture. Then she poured some disinfectant on the gauze and rubbed his wounded flesh with it very gently. 

While Effie was taking care of his hand, Haymitch's mind went back to Peeta and Katniss, and he felt incredibly tired all of a sudden. He was too old to be a rebel. Besides, he barely recognized himself in that man who suddenly cared for three people as if they were family. Every loving feeling he had suppressed years ago was back in his heart. They were quite rusty due to the lack of use, but Effie, Katniss and Peeta had succeeded in bringing them back to him, along with the dread of losing them, of course. But those were the consequences of being alive, he supposed, and he refused to retreat in his shell so easily, so soon. He could barely keep his indifference mask on when he looked at overwhelmed Katniss, tortured Peeta or helpless Effie. Haymitch was exhausted.

He sighed, leaned in to press his forehead against Effie's chest and threw his arms around her waist. If the woman was surprised by his actions, she didn't say anything. She just put aside the disinfectant and gauze and held him softly. She knew how much he was suffering, so she stroked his shoulders carefully, then started to rub his neck and nape and she finally entangled her fingers in his hair.

“Oh, you also got... a lump... right here”, her fingers rubbed a point near his right ear and he flinched in pain. She didn't stop stroking him, so Haymitch allowed himself to relax a little under her touch. It had been a very, very long and hard day and his body was asking for a piece of peace. He took a deep breath and then sighed again.

“Are you alright, Haymitch?”, Effie asked forcing him to look at her.

“Yes, but I need some rest.”

He hadn't finished the sentence when his beeper vibrated with brand new instructions: Katniss' closest friends would take turns to keep an eye on her evolution during the rest of the night and the next day. Effie rubbed Haymitch's back soothingly and they stood up to finish bandaging his hand and tidy up the room before heading to the door. There were still so many feelings in the air... And things they may never dare to say...

When they reached the door, Haymitch cupped Effie's cheek with his good hand and kissed her forehead before going out to thank her for her patience, and it felt so right.

They showed up together at Katniss' room, where two doctors were putting a cervical collar around the unconscious girl's swollen neck. Prim and Katniss' mother, Gale, Boggs and Plutarch were already there. At first they didn't want Effie to take turns, but she insisted on looking after her as well, so she was given the first hour and Haymitch took the second one. When everyone knew the timetable, they left the room one by one with worried faces, especially Prim. The doctors took their time inserting an IV in Katniss' arm and then left as well. Effie approached her bed to sit down beside her and took the girl's hand in hers. After a while, when she considered that she had provided enough comfort to Katniss, she sat in a chair at the foot of the bed and discovered Haymitch leaning against the glass door. Somehow Effie knew that he wasn't going to leave her alone.

“I went to check on Peeta”, he explained in a very low voice as he went to sit right beside Effie in another chair. “He's still passed out as well.”

“I want to see him later”, she pleaded and Haymitch nodded. Effie's hand searched for his and they intertwined their fingers as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

They had two very long hours ahead -because Effie wasn't going to leave Haymitch alone either-, so many things to think about and lots of feelings to sort out.

 


	17. Fear is in the air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are already at the end of Mockingjay – Part 1. Watching the film again, I noticed something curious in Effie's behavior and I decided to use it here.

Their two-hour watch in Katniss' room left Haymitch and Effie exhausted. They had barely talked because they were too tired for it. Effie had slept around forty-five minutes with her head on Haymitch's shoulder, but he had only allowed himself to take a small nap towards the end of the first hour. His muscles and bones ached after remaining in the same position for nearly two hours. Katniss' vital signs were steady, but she didn't wake up, so the pair didn't have much to do. Effie got up from time to time while she was awake to tuck in the girl or to stroke her forehead, but that was all.

When Prim arrived to take over, Effie caressed the girl's chin and both escort and victor left the room to visit Peeta. They weren't allowed to enter the room, so they had to see the boy from behind a glass. Effie covered her mouth with her hand at the sight of gaunt Peeta to keep her tears at bay. After a few minutes, Haymitch took her by the arm and guided her out.

They headed to Effie's quarters in silence. The corridors were quiet, since it was wee hours. The woman was too affected, but Haymitch didn't dare to show any signs of comfort until they arrived at their destination. Once the door was closed, he rubbed her back while Effie leaned her forehead against the wall.

“Poor Peeta”, she lamented in a whisper. “But he's tough. He will heal...”

Haymitch didn't say anything. He was too tired to speak. Besides, he didn't know what the Capitol had done to Peeta and he wasn't the type to lie when he wasn't sure about something that important, even if that meant not being able to comfort Effie. The former escort turned around with a sigh and patted his chest.

“I need to tidy myself up before going to bed. I'll be back in a minute. Make yourself at home”, Effie told him, her tone sad and hopeless.

She grabbed her toiletry bag and disappeared through the door and into the corridor. The rooms didn't come with bathrooms or toilets, so the inhabitants had to go to the shared ones at the end of each level. Effie hated that, but she had no choice if she wanted to be decent and clean. She must have remained in the bathroom for only fifteen minutes, but when she returned to her quarters, Haymitch was already asleep, sprawled face down on the bed. Effie shook her head half-amused, half-worried and she tried not to make any noise, though she suspected that not even an air-raid would have been able to wake up Haymitch, given his level of exhaustion. However, she couldn't help but caressing the side of his face with the back of her fingers before sliding into her own bed.

_ -oooooo- _

A persistent vibration woke up Haymitch very early in the morning. He hadn't slept enough time, but the notification could only mean that Katniss was already awake. He wiped the dream away by rubbing his eyes and got up with some difficulties. It was as if the past night had aged him. The victor looked at Effie, who was sleeping peacefully, and he decided not to wake her up yet before getting out of her quarters.

The morning was as crazy as the day before. They were given some explanations about what might have happened to Peeta back in the Capitol -which made Haymitch smash his cup of tea against a wall- and then they headed to Katniss' room, where Prim was already keeping her sister company. Haymitch couldn't help but admire the little girl's strength, it had to be a family thing.

The victor wasn't able to see Effie until lunch. She was quieter than usual and didn't eat much. Plutarch tried to cheer her up by handing her the cards he had written for Coin's evening speech in an attempt to make her proofread them, and Effie did it to make him leave her alone. After lunch, Haymitch took her to visit Katniss, and the former escort made a great effort to sound as bubbly and cheerful as always, but even the girl -who tended to be oblivious to people's feelings- realized that Effie was sad, or concerned.

Effie had barely sought Haymitch's contact that day and he couldn't deny that he longed for one of her spontaneous caresses. Poor Effie was just overwhelmed by the situation, he knew. She couldn't see Peeta and Katniss suffer so much. She felt frustrated because there was nothing she could do to help them, but still Haymitch kind of needed her touch to feel reassured.

Haymitch and Effie arrived together at the meeting point to listen to Coin's speech. Effie stood on her spot at the front of one of the balconies to listen to the President's harangue. Plutarch stood beside her very satisfied, his lips visibly mouthing the whole speech. Effie could sense Haymitch's presence in the shadows behind Plutarch. With every new word Coin said, Effie's uneasiness kept growing: she was a Capitol citizen and she had heard too many speeches throughout her life to remain oblivious to the similarities between Snow's and Coin's manners. She wasn't able to smile or clap. At some point, the woman felt some fingers searching for hers from behind and she turned her head to look at Haymitch, who was staring at her knowingly. They held hands clandestinely just for a few seconds before the end of the speech, but that was all Effie needed to know that Haymitch was entirely there for her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you realize that Effie wasn't comfortable at Coin's speech at the end of Mockingjay – Part 1? Her face is a poem, she doesn't know how to act. And then, she looks back. She doesn't look at Plutarch, who is by her side, but right behind him, where someone is standing in the shadows. At some point, this someone seems to put a beanie back in place. It could be Haymitch... To me, it is indeed. I wanted to include that scene in this collection, though it made for a shorter chapter this time.


	18. Off-guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We start with Mockingjay – Part 2. Peeta's condition isn't getting better. Katniss is sent to District Two to try to convince an amount of Capitol supporters to surrender.

Katniss was having a hard time coping with Peeta's sudden schizophrenic behavior and Haymitch wasn't dealing with it any better, but poor Effie was the one who showed the worst signs of distress. As district people, Haymitch knew that Katniss and himself were kind of used to be on the receiving end of life, but this whole situation was new to Effie, who had always lived a hedonistic life of luxury. Since the boy wasn't getting any better, all of them found very hard to recognize the sweet, caring boy he ever was in this broken thing, and Effie wasn't used to see someone she cared so much for suffering like that. And now both Peeta and Katniss, her children, were in the epicenter of a psychological and physical war that could make them end up losing their own souls.

After the victors' rescue, Effie had spent a lot of time in Katniss hospital room until the girl had been discharged. Then she had tried to get closer to Peeta again. While Haymitch had always gotten along better with Katniss, Effie had developed a stronger bond with Peeta. She went to visit him whenever she was allowed to, but his reactions to her presence were disheartening and it affected the former escort incredibly. She had barely eaten in the last days and she was getting thinner. Haymitch tried to force her to eat when they happened to have their meals together, but it was even worse because she often ended up getting sick. Besides, due to his important role in the rebellion, he couldn't be with Effie as much as he wanted, so he couldn't keep an eye on her all the time. What with one thing and another, they had barely seen each other since Coin's speech.

To make things even worse, when Haymitch left Command that morning, his spirits were at rock bottom. He had been told that he would be traveling to District Two with Katniss that very afternoon. In his humble opinion, the girl wasn't ready to be exposed again, but Coin had told him that Katniss herself had asked for it and Haymitch suspected that she didn't want to be near Peeta, which was a quite coward but understandable movement on her part. He searched for Effie in all the places he thought she could be -her quarters, Peeta's room, Plutarch's office- because he wanted to tell her the news before she could hear them second hand, but she had vanished without trace.

It was only when he went to Beetee's domains to look for Katniss that he finally found Effie. She was reminding the girl-on-fire how she would have to get dressed by herself in her bulletproof Mockingjay suit once she arrived in District Two, since she wasn't going to be there to help her.

_Always the stylish escort_ , Haymitch thought and smiled fondly and bitterly at the same time.

They had only ten minutes left before the hovercraft took off, so he coughed to let the two women know that he was there and that they were running out of time. Effie's eyes welled with tears when she hugged Katniss affectionately. Then the girl stepped aside to grab her bow and quiver and Haymitch approached Effie. He wrapped her in a awkward, tight embrace without a word.

“Be careful”, she said in a whisper, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

“I will”, Haymitch promised. Then he pulled back just a few inches to look at Effie's pained face and he pressed his lips against her temple. It could have been a good moment to give her a proper kiss, Haymitch's treacherous mind told him, but he didn't dare to. He didn't want to think too much about it, really, because a proper kiss could expose certain feelings that were better hidden. What if something bad happened in District Two and he couldn't go back to Effie? That could be the final blow for her shattered nerves.

_It's definitely better this way_ , he kept telling himself as he walked Katniss to the military hovercraft, a hand on the small of the girl's back, with Effie's eyes fixed on their napes.

_ -oooooo- _

And everything went to shit in District Two, indeed. Katniss almost got herself killed when one of their enemies shot her down. When Haymitch saw her fall to the ground, he thought his heart would stop. Fortunately, she survived thanks to Cinna's bulletproof suit, which had Haymitch thanking the late stylist for his foresight. The victor hoped his friend would be proud of himself wherever he were now.

The soldiers subdued the last Capitol defenders from District Two while Boggs, the Hawthorne boy and Haymitch dragged an unconscious Katniss away from the railroad. Two nurses appeared out of nowhere to check on her, and it was then when they discovered she was still breathing. Someone brought a stretcher and they put the girl on it. Then they rushed to the hovercraft to tend to her wound as soon as possible, though she wouldn't be able to receive a proper treatment until they reached District Thirteen.

It took the army around one hour to fix things in District Two. Most of the soldiers and officers had to stay there to plan the impending attack on the Capitol, but the wounded would go back to District Thirteen to heal and regroup.

The hovercraft that carried Katniss and Haymitch landed in District Thirteen the next morning, when the sun was already raising. When the ramp opened and they pushed down the stretcher where Katniss still lied barely conscious, Primrose Everdeen was the first nurse to reach them. She took her sister's hand in hers and ran beside the stretcher until they entered the hospital wing.

Haymitch was too tired to run, so he took his time to go down the ramp and follow them. He had spent the whole flight to District Thirteen by Katniss's side without sleeping a wink. When he finally reached the room Katniss had been assigned to, the doctors had already inserted an IV with morfling in her arm and were applying some anti-inflammatory cold ointment on the huge black bruise that was starting to form over her broken rib. Haymitch leaned against the door frame in silence and watched the doctors and nurses work for a few minutes, until he felt Plutarch's hand on his shoulder and forced himself to explain to the former Gamemaker what had happened.

I was only when Plutarch finally went to inform Coin that Haymitch allowed himself to relax, exhaustion taking over his muscles and mind. He knew he should go look for Effie, as she would want to see Katniss immediately, but Haymitch thought that perhaps it would be better to bring her when everything was calmer. However, only five minutes later, when the doctors had already left Katniss in Prim's capable hands, Haymitch heard an outraged female voice coming from behind.

Effie Trinket, dressed in her souped-up grey uniform, was arguing with the tallest soldier Haymitch had seen in his life. The man was the size of an elephant and carried a rifle in his hands, but not even that seemed to be able to intimidate Effie. The Capitol woman was trying to walk past him to see Katniss, but the soldier had been given instructions to stop everyone because visits weren't allowed yet. Haymitch smiled to himself, because the situation reminded him too much of that in District Eleven when Effie had scolded the peacekeepers. Suddenly, Effie caught a glimpse of Haymitch and called for him.

“Haymitch!”, she tried to reach him, but the soldier kept holding her back.

“Hey, young man, it's okay”, Haymitch told the soldier. “She's part of the Mockingjay's team, she's allowed to see her.”

The soldier didn't look too convinced, but since Haymitch's face was kind of familiar to him, he finally stepped aside to let Effie walk past him. The woman made a proud noise -chin up- and reached for Haymitch, who took her hand an led her to Katniss's door.

“She's okay”, Haymitch whispered to soothe Effie. “A broken rib, that's all she got.”

Katniss was so pale that Effie's heart skipped a beat. She leaned against Haymitch, who threw his right arm around her shoulders to hold her close and they watched Prim stroke her sister's hand carefully. They barely recognized the frightened girl who Effie had reaped a year ago in the determined nurse they had in front of their eyes. A few minutes later, Prim got up from Katniss' bed and went to look after the rest of the wounded. When she walked past Effie and Haymitch, she nodded at them reassuringly and with an amused tinkle in her eyes.

“Okay, we should go, sweetheart. Katniss will wake up soon, and they'll take care of her. There's nothing we can do here and I'm tired as hell”, Haymitch told Effie. 

“You should sleep a few hours”, she agreed and they started to walk away. 

“What is it in your schedule for this morning?”

“Oh, don't you know?”, her face lightened up all of a sudden and Haymitch raised his eyebrows. “I'm helping with Annie's dress for the wedding. She's marrying Finnick tomorrow evening! Isn't it wonderful?”

Haymitch looked at her with his eyes wide open. He really couldn't believe that some people were thinking in weddings when the imprending attack on the Capitol was already on its way. But, on the other hand, he understood that it may be a perfect opportunity for everyone to enjoy and have a nice time together in the middle of the war. They all needed some happiness, for sure.

“Everyone in District Thirteen will attend, and there will be a feast and some music...”, Effie seemed delighted and Haymitch couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her enthusiasm. She was using her strongest Capitol accent without even noticing. “People will wear their dress uniforms and everything will be perfect. Of course, I volunteered to help with the bride's dress. You know they lack elegance in this cave.”

Effie said this last part in a whisper as if she were telling Haymitch a secret. He hadn't seen her so happy in ages, and it raised his spirits a little. This was exactly what Effie needed to feel that she was necessary. It even made him fall back into their old dynamics, when he teased her about her manners or her stupid sense of fashion.

“Oh, but don't tell me you will make poor Annie wear one of those hideous wigs of yours...”

She stopped dead and hit his arm playfully, her brow furrowed in annoyance. “I knew I shouldn't tell you anything! For your information, they didn't allow me to keep any of my wigs.”

“I know. So no wigs tomorrow, then”, he let out an exaggerated sigh of relief while they resumed their walk to his quarters. “I'm more concerned about the dress, to be honest... Will you do me a favor, at least? Just don't put any shit on your face. Those cosmetics must taste awful.”

“Why, Haymitch? Are you planning on licking my cheeks by any chance?”

“Not licking. I might bite you if you walk around looking like a cupcake, like you used to.”

“Oh, I bet you'd prefer that I looked like a bottle of whiskey”, Effie shot back playfully.

The victor was incredibly tired, but his bickering with Effie had always been an amazing entertainment for him. He snorted and put his hands in his pockets.

“Definitely, sweetheart. You would never be able to get rid of me in that case”, he joked. They had just reached the door of his room, so they stopped in front of it.

“I don't want to get rid of you, Haymitch”, Effie's tone became serious all of a sudden, which made the man turn around to look at her.

Her expression wasn't flirtatious or amused anymore, but completely honest. It was all he needed to give in. Haymitch reached for Effie's cheek, took a step closer and looked into her eyes for a second. Then, without thinking twice or asking for her permission, he closed the distance between them and kissed her lips hungrily in the middle of that empty grey corridor of District Thirteen. It was a short kiss but everything made sense all of a sudden for them. The bickering, the tender moments, the fear, all those years of tension... Haymitch pulled back just a little, his hand still on Effie's cheek, and then they smiled at each other.

“Well, that was... unexpected”, she whispered.

“Was it?”

They smiled again, while Haymitch kept stroking Effie's face tenderly. Suddenly, she hugged the man and hid her face in his chest. She let him hug her in return. Then, closing her eyes with a sigh, she muttered against his shoulder, “There's no future for us, Haymitch.”

The man shook his head. “There's never been a future for us, princess, and that's exactly why it took me so long to do this. But here we are. I don't care about the future. When future comes, if it does, I will worry about it then. It's not as if I were asking you to marry me. No promises, no commitment. It's only a kiss...”

With a soft movement, he pulled a few inches back to look at her face.

“Are you afraid?”, the victor asked her and she nodded, thought Haymitch saw more concern than fear in her beautiful blue eyes. They held each other's gazes for a while, weighing the situation, then Haymitch spoke again, “It's okay, sweetheart. I'll be just waiting for you when you're ready.” 

He lifted Effie's chin to kiss her lips again, a bit more tenderly this time. She nodded once and kissed him back, a chaste kiss that held no promises on her part either but was enough to send a comforting heat wave through Haymitch's body.

“Now go help that bride, Effie Trinket. ”

Effie gave him a little smile and squeezed his hand, then turned around and left Haymitch behind, full of a new kind of hope and so much fear at the same time.

 


	19. On edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter of Mockingjay – Part 2. Things in District Thirteen don't get better. Haymitch is tired, Katniss is devastated, Peeta is hallucinating and Effie is confused.

Haymitch was so tired that he fell asleep immediately. His head had barely touched the pillow when darkness engulfed him. He was sure he could have remained unconscious for days hadn't it been for a knock on his door in the evening. The noise made him open his eyes, but he didn't know what had really woken him up. He was disorientated and still exhausted. When he started to stretch his limbs to get up, Effie slid the door of his quarters open and came in. Haymitch looked at her from where he was lying, wondering what time it was. The woman approached him carefully, not to startle him, and sat down on the bed by his side.

“Good morning, sweetheart”, he greeted her, closing his eyes again.

“Morning?”, Effie snorted and patted his chest making a funny face. “It's 10pm, Haymitch. People are going to bed now.”

“Are you coming to bed?”, the man teased, resting his hand on top of the one she still had on his chest. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips when Effie batted her eyelashes in surprise. He noticed how his heart started to beat a little faster.

“No way, dear. I just came to tell you that you missed all the meals today and you should eat something if you intend to stay alive”, she informed him calmly. Apparently, there were no traces of uneasiness in her voice or gestures after the kiss and he took it as a good sign.

Haymitch sat up on the bed and put his arm around Effie's waist to pull her closer. He held her there, right against his chest, their faces only a few inches apart.

“And what is it in the menu?”, he asked with a flirtatious look.

“O-Oh, well. The canteen staff promised me they would...”, Effie started to say, but Haymitch decided to take the plunge and silenced her next word with a kiss. “... save some stew...”, she tried to go on, but he kissed her again. “... for you.”

He smiled at her and Effie only shook her head with feigned annoyance. “Don't be childish.”

At this, Haymitch smiled again but decided not to push her any further. He suddenly remembered her concerns about the future and decided to wait for her to be sure of what they were doing. After all, he had kind of promised her he will wait. He would have to let her make the next move or he might lose her. With a sigh, Haymitch let go of her waist and Effie leaned back again. She then raised her hand frowning and ran her fingers through his beard, staring at him for a few seconds.

“Do you want me to get it shaven for the wedding? I can't do it myself”, he said, raising his hands for Effie to see the tremors that shook them. “but someone could... you know. You always told me to shave before the Reapings and the parties and the sponsors...”, Haymitch asked pouting, as he always did when he was thinking.

Effie shook her head. “No. Keep the beard, it suits you. I... I like it.”

“Alright, sweetheart. As you wish”, he agreed, stretching his limbs once again.

Effie got up slowly, stretching out her hand for him to take it. She had eaten her dinner ages ago, but she planned on going with him anyway to spend some time together.

Effie had to admit that she was a little confused about her feelings. She had spent half her life convincing herself that she didn't want or even like Haymitch, because it was only proper, and because he was an awful man that spent his days drinking his life away. Besides, she had always thought that he despised her for being a Capitol, so every time she caked her face with all that make-up, she was also putting on a mask to protect the real Effie from the rest of the world, including Haymitch. She had mastered the art of pretending there was nothing between them. It was true that sometimes he had showed her some tenderness, and Effie had let her mask slip a little in those rare moments, but she had ended up attributing his actions to pity and had went on playing the part of the escort.

And then, he had saved her life as if he really cared for her and they had stopped being a mentor and escort all of a sudden. Plus, though they had never really avoided physical contact in all their years working together, since they had arrived in Thirteen they were touchier than ever. Both craved the other's contact and sought it constantly. In bed, in the bunker, in the meetings. And to make things even more complicated, Haymitch had kissed her, which had made her heart flutter and bleed at the same time. Effie couldn't deny she longed for his warmth. She liked it when Haymitch hugged, caressed and, especially, kissed her, but she was afraid of disappointment, of the wounds she could get in the process if she surrendered to him. And she was afraid of the future.

However, above all, she still yearned for Haymitch's company and, though she was very confused and very tired after a long day of wedding planning and sewing, she needed to spend some time with him. Effie wanted to tell him all about Annie's dress, though she knew that topic would bore him to death. She wanted him to tease her, to look at her with that twinkle in his eyes. She needed him so much that it scared the hell out of her.

“Are you having dinner with me?”, Haymitch took her hand and got up as well, every bit of his body screaming in pain.

“I had mine ages ago, but I'll go with you. You'll need my influence with the canteen staff if you want to eat that stew this late”, she said in her preppiest voice, which made Haymitch snort.

When they reached the canteen, only a few soldiers were still there, most of them having some tea or chamomile. Effie motioned for Haymitch to sit down and then she approached the man who was behind the counter and talked to him. Haymitch couldn't help but notice that she was a little flirtatious with the man. After a few seconds, the guy disappeared behind a door and then went back to Effie with a tray full of food that he put in her hands. She smiled at him and turned around to return to where Haymitch was already seated.

Effie gave him the tray and at the smell of it, he realized how hungry he was. At first, Effie was all chatty and couldn't stop telling him how gorgeous Finnick would look in silver grey, or how amazing Annie's dress would be, but after a while, she rested her head on her hand and fell silent. She yawned once or twice, so Haymitch decided to finish his meal faster, just to allow her to go to bed. He intended to accompany her to her bedroom, but suddenly, a soldier appeared in the canteen and approached their table.

“Mr. Abernathy, President Coin needs you in Command”, the woman said with a military tone.

“Isn't it a bit late?”, Effie raised her head to complain.

“War doesn't stop, ma'am”, the woman stated.

Haymitch nodded at the soldier and then looked at Effie while he started to get on his feet. “It's okay, sweetheart. Go to bed and rest: you earned it. I'll see you tomorrow.”

When they parted ways, he could see a sad expression in Effie's face, but there was nothing he could do to change things, so he followed the soldier into the hallways without a word in their way to Command.

_ -oooooo- _

Haymitch had been summoned to Command to be told some news: the doctors said that Peeta was starting to have some memories, but they didn't know whether they were real or just induced through torture and tracker jacker's venom. He spent most of the night from here to there, trying to figure out how to help Peeta. He talked to Plutarch and Coin, then to the doctors, then he went to visit Peeta himself, who was awake, and tried to talk to him, though it was still too painful for Haymitch to look at the boy's face. Guilt still ate him alive every time he thought that he had left Peeta in the Capitol.

The conversation started normally, even if Peeta's attitude was a little guarded. He told Haymitch some things he remembered from his life in District Twelve, and even some details from their time together in the Games. Haymitch allowed himself to breath a little more relaxed, because Peeta was starting to remember real things, apparently. But at some point, the boy began shouting all of a sudden. His memories had been so altered that he couldn't stop yelling that they should have let Katniss die in the arena, and though Haymitch tried to calm down Peeta telling him that he used to love Katniss, it was no use. The former mentor left the boy's room completely devastated, wondering how it all would end for them.

When morning came, they decided to ask Katniss to pay a visit to Peeta, just to test his reactions, and of course, they left the responsibility of informing the girl in Haymitch's hands. All went bad and Katniss didn't even look at her former mentor when she left Peeta's room, her features showing signs of the deepest sorrow Haymitch had ever seen on her face.

Given the circumstances, the last thing Haymitch wanted to do was attending a wedding, but when he entered his quarters around noon and discovered his dress uniform lying perfectly on his bed, he couldn't help but smile. He knew it was Effie's work. Then he discovered a note attached to the jacket that confirmed his suspicions:  _'I know you've missed this, so I prepared your outfit. For my victor. E.'_

With a fond snort, Haymitch picked his uniform up and put it on the back of a chair very carefully. Then he fell onto his bed to take a short nap before going to the showers. He couldn't make any promises, because his spirits were at rock bottom, but he was determined to enjoy the evening, if not for himself, for her. With this fond thought in mind, he slowly fell asleep.

 


	20. Now or never

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter of Mockingjay – Part 2. This takes place in the morning of Finnick's and Annie's wedding. Effie's POV. This chapter is a bit shorter.

The morning of the wedding day was insane for Effie. She knew she might be giving the preparations too much importance, and she knew positively that she was driving Annie and Finnick crazy with her Capitol manners and perfectionism, but she couldn't help it. The announcement of the young couple's wedding had been like a life vest for Effie. Since she couldn't really help with the war, and everything she did to make Peeta and Katniss get better wasn't working, she had clung to the wedding preparations as if she didn't have any other goal in her life. The wedding had given her a purpose at last. Sadly, there wasn't much to truly help with, since there were no flowers in Thirteen, the food was scarce and all the fabric she could find was grey. But she rolled up her sleeves, lifted her chin, smiled and she got down to work.

When Annie disappeared to try on her wedding dress after the final touches, Effie took Finnick by the arm to prevent him for going after the bride and made him sat down with her. She was tired but happy. Everything had to be perfect for them. Effie had known young Finnick for years and there was a mutual affection between them. He had always treated her well, which was more than what could be said of other victors. They usually took it out on escorts. Now that she was a rebel, Effie could understand their behavior a little better, of course, but still she was grateful for Finnick's kindness throughout the years.

“She's wonderful, isn't she?”, Finnick's dreamy voice took Effie back to Thirteen.

“Oh, she is”, the woman agreed, patting his arm. “She deserves happiness, and you too.”

Finnick nodded and stroke the hand Effie kept on his arm. She smiled and sighed. What a romantic boy he was. Then, without warning, her expression changed. She lowered her blue eyes and her face wasn't bright anymore. Finnick looked at her frowning, not knowing what had gotten into her all of a sudden.

“Are you alright, Effie?”

The former escort swallowed and nodded, but Finnick knew her too well by now to be fooled by her fake gesture. With a squeeze of her hand, the boy smiled at Effie amiably as an invitation to share her concerns. She thought for a few seconds before speaking.

“Aren't you afraid, Finnick?”, she finally asked. “I mean, it's so brave and beautiful that you had the courage to propose to her... but, what if... one of you...”

“... dies, you mean?”, he completed her question and Effie nodded sadly. “It's a possibility. We're in the middle of a war and I intend to go to the Capitol to help the army with whichever skills I have. I don't want to think much about that, to be honest, Effie. It would be so tragic to lose her or to die trying to free Panem. But when they took Annie away from me I went crazy”, Finnick's voice was calm, but Effie noticed a little crack in it when he pronounced the girl's name. “I thought I would never be able to see her again, to tell her how much I loved her. I've been forced to hide my relationship with Annie for years because I was a victor. I couldn't make her my pressure point and still, they ended up finding out.”

“I'm so sorry...”, Effie said sincerely. She couldn't help but feel guilty for the years she had spent playing along. Finnick held her hand even tighter.

“It was awful. And then, when District Thirteen soldiers brought her back to me, I decided I didn't want to hide anymore. I'd rather shout my love for her to the four winds while there's still time than stay silent one more second. I'd rather regret marrying her if one of us happens to die in this war than never ask and then keep on living the rest of my life thinking that we were meant for each other but never acted on it.”

Effie's eyes welled with tears but she didn't let them roll down her cheeks. The young man from District Four threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

“Does it make sense to you?”, Finnick asked her, as if he knew something she didn't dare to voice out herself.

“Yes, it does. But the future is so uncertain...”

“The only time that matters now is the present, Effie”, he cut her off and took her chin in his fingers to make her look at him. “That's why it's called present, because it's a gift. And as you have always told us, rejecting a gift is bad manners.”

That made Effie chuckle and Finnick laughed with her. They hugged briefly and Effie blinked repeatedly to keep her tears at bay.

“I'm sorry, Finnick. I don't want to ruin your special day. I'm so glad for you and I wish you all the happiness.”

“I know, don't worry. This is what friends are for. Thank you for your help, Effie. I truly appreciate what you've done for us.”

They got on their feet and Effie held his hands affectionately. Then she told him that she should go put the final touches to her own dress, but not before making him promise that he wouldn't try to see the bride in her wedding gown before the ceremony because it was bad luck.

Of course, neither of them knew that Finnick's marriage was already doomed.

Though she was still afraid and confused, her conversation with Finnick had started a little fire in her heart, at least, and she felt a bit happier than before. With her spirits higher, she decided to go check if Haymitch had everything ready for the wedding, and of course, he didn't. He wasn't even in his quarters when she knocked on his door, so she supposed he might be helping someone, visiting the children or planning something. Therefore it was up to her to make sure his clothes were on point for the event. Oh, how much she had missed dressing him. She cleaned his boots, ironed his whole dress uniform and left everything on his bed. Then she wrote a note for him and added it to the lot.

With a satisfied smile on her lips, Effie finally left for her own room. It was time for herself to get ready, and she was determined to show everyone what real class was, so she was going to take her time.

 


	21. I promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter of Mockingjay – Part 2. This takes place during Finnick and Annie's wedding.
> 
> There will be a mention of a song in this chapter. I imagine you all know Scarborough Fair. Well, it's the one I used because I liked how much it fitted here, as it's traditional music. I changed some lyrics to make it work in this Panem world and the story I'm telling, but I just wanted to let you know that it's not mine, obviously. Besides, you can even sing it if you know the tune, which may make the reading more real for you. ^^

Haymitch knocked on Effie's door in the evening and waited for her to open. He smoothed his jacket in the meantime, sure that the Capitol woman must be still getting ready, so it was only proper to wait outside. _We're gonna be late and Finnick's gonna kill me_ , he thought tapping on the floor with his foot. Five minutes later, Effie slid her door open, a smile on her not-too-much-caked face, and stepped outside. She shot Haymitch an appreciative look from head to toe, as if she liked what she saw, and nodded.

“You look handsome”, Effie finally said, beaming. Though she still thought that Thirteen look was incredibly plain, grey truly suited Haymitch because it brought out his eyes.

Haymitch pursed his lips since it was his turn to inspect her look. Pink flounced dress, impossible heels, natural reddish hair styled in the most hideous way he had ever imagined and a huge, huge fake flower entangled in it.

“I'd like to be able to say the same, sweetheart... but that flower...”, he started, “... and that dress... and that...”

But he couldn't go on, because Effie hit his shoulder in irritation and shot him a deadly look. Haymitch raised his hands in surrender and stepped back to stay out of her reach, a wicked smile on his lips.

“Okay, don't go mad at me. All I'm saying is that you don't need all those ornaments to look good”, Haymitch shrugged and then offered Effie his arm as a truce. She lifted her chin and looked at him with annoyed eyes, but she finally took his arm, her face still a bit bothered.

When they arrived at the hall where the wedding would take place, it was already crowded. Mostly everyone was there for the celebration. Haymitch supposed that a great amount of soldiers would be keeping watch meanwhile, and some others would be still healing in the hospital wing, like poor Peeta, but the rest of the inhabitants left in District Thirteen were there for sure.

Effie let go of Haymitch's arm as soon as she spotted Katniss and went to hug her. The girl looked incredibly gloomy and Haymitch patted her face to try and cheer her up, but it didn't work. Then they said hi to Prim too, who never left her sister's side, and even talked to Johanna. Despite they had never gotten along very well, Effie felt sorry for Seven's victor. They had shaved off her hair and reminders of torture were still visible in her hollow cheeks and tormented eyes. A few minutes before the bride and the groom entered the hall, Plutarch and Coin made their entrance and went to stand on the front line, right in front of Effie and Haymitch, who shook their hands.

Everyone seemed happy and relaxed. Throughout the ceremony, Haymitch couldn't help but look in Effie's direction from time to time. He wanted to check on her, to see her smile. She was enjoying herself so much, he could tell, and that pleased Haymitch more than he wanted to admit, even to himself. It amused him too that, at some point, she even mouthed some of Finnick and Annie's vows, as if she had helped write them and she had learned the words by heart.

Haymitch realized too late that he had glanced at Effie precisely when Annie was saying “ _I promise to love and cherish you_ ”. He didn't know why he had done it, but it just felt right. Did he want to promise Effie he would love and cherish her forever, maybe, despite having told her that their kiss didn't mean he was asking her to marry him? Well, forever was a very long time, a word full of future, and they probably wouldn't have that much time left. Besides, Haymitch thought that they weren't made for living together: they would end up killing each other at some point, for sure. If Effie sensed his eyes on her, he didn't know, since she didn't look back at him.

At the end, when Finnick finally kissed Annie, everyone clapped and cheered the newly wed couple and then the music started. There were only a couple of fiddles, a guitar and some bagpipes and flutes that people had brought along with them from their homes when they had moved to Thirteen. It was not much, but the music they played sounded honest and real, pure district music. People started to dance the traditional way and it brought so many memories to Haymitch's mind: old festivals and dances, stories he had been told when he was young, images of his family.

“Haymitch, what is it?”, Effie asked him. She had been clapping happily to the rhythm of the music until that moment.

“Nothing”, he lied. “I'm fine.”

“Are you sure? You turned pale”, she insisted and touched his arm just in case he would faint.

The man raised a hand and nodded to soothe her, but the void in his stomach didn't go away. Then suddenly, he felt two pairs of hands drag him to the dance floor. He recognized Hazelle Hawthorne, Gale's mother, as one of the women, but the other was unknown to him. He resisted and pulled back: he didn't want to make a fool of himself. It had been years since the last time he had danced some traditional music. He had lived totally isolated from the rest of District Twelve for more than twenty years, so he had stopped attending festivals the few times they were still celebrated. Now he was more used to the classic and modern music from the Capitol due to his job as a mentor, which was truly sad. Besides, the uneasiness he felt in his heart wasn't really helping to let him dance and enjoy. He wasn't in the mood for it. Unless...

He shot a tentative glance in Effie's direction. The woman was clapping happily again, completely enthralled by what she was seeing. Would she want to dance or was she just amazed by their _cavemen's_ music? Were they mere freaks in a circus she was visiting? Haymitch shook his head to get rid of that thought and decided to outstretch his hand for Effie to take it.

“Come with me, sweetheart?”, Haymitch asked with feigned indifference.

“Oh, no, Haymitch. I can't dance that. I wouldn't even know where to start!”, she panicked and shook her head.

“I guess I can teach you”, he insisted.

“No, no, please, Haymitch”, Effie pleaded, her face very concerned. “I can't do it. Please. Go dance with... with your friends if you want, I'm fine.”

Haymitch frowned at her wording and stared right into her eyes. “What is this all about? Are you ashamed of hanging out with these people?”

“No!”, Effie shrieked. “It's just... You're all from the districts. I don't know anything about life there. These people look at me as if I were a monster or something worse”, she explained and sighed. “I'm okay with it, I know myself and we don't have much in common, so I prefer not to try to fit. They will never accept me, Haymitch.”

“That's bullshit. Katniss and Peeta accepted you. I accepted you. You will never know until you try”, he said, but decided not to push her. Effie wasn't comfortable with the situation and though she was all smiles and happiness, he knew too well how good she was at pretending. It had been her job for ten years, after all.

Haymitch finally took a seat in one of the huge stone flowerpot stands, right by where she stood, deep in thought, but intelligence seemed to be playing hide-and-seek with his mind today due to his withdrawal. Ah, he missed his booze so, so badly.

At some point, Effie sat by his side and remained there, brushing her shoulder against his from time to time, as they watched the dancers. They saw Katniss dance with her sister and hug her. Against all odds, some men tried to invite Effie into the dance floor, but she rejected all of them, including Finnick, who tried to have his last dance with her before retiring to his quarters with his bride. When Haymitch looked down by chance, he could see her feet tapping on the floor, and that was what finally gave her away. He suddenly realized how desperate she really was for a dance. Haymitch shook his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Why was she constantly suppressing all her needs and desires?

“Don't look at me like that”, she said, her eyes still fixed on the dancers.

“Come on, sweetheart, admit you want to dance.”

“Don't be silly”, Effie scolded him.

Haymitch smiled and decided that he might try again later if the music slowed down at some point. But time went by and some people started to leave after the newly wed couple, which meant that Haymitch was running out of chances to lead Effie onto the dance floor.

After a few minutes, the music started to die down, and people sat on the floor or the flowerpot stands and started to tell stories and to sing some old canticles. Then Haymitch knew it was all lost for the night. He looked to his side and patted Effie's knee, resigned.

“Alright, sweetheart. You won this round. I'm exhausted. I will be in my quarters in case you need anything”, Haymitch told her and started to get up.

But, suddenly, Hazelle got up too and took him by the arm again. She was the only citizen from District Twelve he had had contact with apart from Katniss and Peeta. The children had made him hire Gale's mother as a housekeeper when they have come back home after the 74 th  Hunger Games. Haymitch and Hazelle weren't friends, but she was a good woman. He remembered her from school, when they were young. She had been friends with his girlfriend and with Maysilee. Anyway, it felt quite odd that she kept looking for him today. Perhaps the traditional music had reminded her of old times, when they all were younger and more innocent.

“Don't leave yet, please”, she said, which earned her a frown from Haymitch. So much familiarity made him feel uncomfortable. “I've just remembered something. You used to sing when we were kids, in festivities and festivals back in Twelve. You had a beautiful voice.”

“I don't think so”, Haymitch shook his head and tried to break loose from Hazelle's fingers.

“Actually, you were pretty popular, even before...”, another woman contributed, but she stopped before bringing up his participation in the Hunger Games. “My grandmother always said you made her go back to her childhood when you sang.”

“What?”, Johanna, who was brooding a few feet away from the group, laughed. “I didn't know that. Why don't you sing, Haymitch? Are you afraid or you just like your women to beg you?”

Haymitch sent her a deadly glare, but Johanna only laughed harder, while Hazelle went to the musicians and spoke briefly to them.

“No way, I don't remember any...”, Haymitch excused himself and began to walk away. He didn't even know why he was still there.

Then the flutist and the fiddler started to play tentatively the first notes of a slow song Haymitch knew too well. He stopped dead. The void in his stomach got bigger than ever all of a sudden, and he turned pale. That song. It was an old canticle his mother used to sing to him and his brother when she wanted to soothe them. It had been ages since Haymitch had last heard it. Suddenly, he couldn't swallow the lump in his throat.

The music went on, the musicians played the first part twice, waiting for Haymitch to start singing when he felt like it, but he couldn't move. Then suddenly, a crystalline, female voice filled the air and sang the first verse slowly:

“ _Are you... going to... Meadowland Fair?_ ”

Haymitch lifted his face to search for the owner of that voice and his eyes opened wide when he discovered it was Effie. She had gotten up and was looking at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. In Haymitch's eyes, it was as if a special light were bathing her from above. She looked so ethereal in the sea of grey uniforms.

“ _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme._ ”

Effie went on, still slowly, as if she were afraid of people's reactions, but everyone seemed as startled as Haymitch. With a tentative step forward, she approached Haymitch and stopped a few feet away from him. The two musicians adapted to her rhythm and waited until she was ready to go on.

“ _Remember me to one who lives there for..._ ”

She took a deep breath and looked right into Haymitch's eyes before singing the next verse.

“… _once he was a true love of mine._ ”

Haymitch didn't know what to do. He could have kissed her right there, but he seemed frozen, besides there were too many people looking at them. Against all odds, the little audience started to clap and cheer Effie on, and she turned to them frowning but happy, at the same time. She smiled at them appreciatively and looked back at Haymitch, who was starting to regain his composure and to feel better. He looked at her fondly, trying to tell her everything he needed to say with his eyes only. Effie just squeezed his arm and encouraged him to sing the next part, since the music was still playing.

“ _Have her make me a cambric shirt._ ”

He hadn't sung in what seemed like centuries, there had been so few opportunities to feel like singing in more than twenty years... His voice was hoarser than the last time he had sung this song and a bit out of practice, but he coughed to clear his throat and tried to do his best. Haymitch saw Effie smile, her hand still on his arm.

“ _Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme._

_Without no seam nor fine needle work and..._

_then she'll be a true love of mine._ ”

He sang the last part more confidently. And it suddenly dawned on him that the lyrics told a story that, funnily enough, could be applied to him and Effie. Without looking away from each other's faces, they started singing the next verses at the same time, so they went on together.

“ _Have her/him find me an acre of land._

_Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme._

_Beneath the sky and over the sand and..._

_then she'll/he'll be a true love of mine._ ”

And they couldn't sing any more verses alone, since everyone joined them and a chorus of voices filled the air around Haymitch and Effie, who only had eyes for each other.

Haymitch nodded his thanks. It wasn't like him to voice his feelings, so he just nodded. She understood him perfectly and nodded in return. “Let's get out of here”, he suggested at last.

The pair left in silence without daring to touch each other, his hands in his pockets and hers folded in front of her chest. They didn't say goodbye to anyone, they just left and ventured into the empty, dark hallways of District Thirteen. Haymitch was incredibly aware of Effie's presence by his side, there was so much tension between them. When they were far enough from the hall, he turned to her, a tender look in his eyes.

“Where did you learn that song, princess? It's pure district material...”, Haymitch asked in a whisper.

“You don't remember it...”, Effie said and he frowned. “You sang that song during your Games, Haymitch”, she went on, her voice as soft as possible. Haymitch didn't know what she was talking about. “One of the younger tributes from your district got hurt during one of the training sessions. I remember you kneeling down next to him and singing this song to make him stop crying. It was in every channel that evening. You made quite an impression. Even Caesar Flickerman asked you to sing the song in front of everyone during your interview, but you refused to do it.”

Haymitch was astonished. “But...”, he didn't really know what to say.

“I was a big fan of yours”, Effie confessed in a whisper, blushing slightly. “I watched that recap a thousand times until I learned the song word by word. I was just ten and you seemed so kind and caring...”

“Your parents let you watch the Games at ten?”, it was the only thing he could ask, he wasn't very good with words. Effie only nodded, and Haymitch felt pity for her.

There was a silence between them and after a few seconds, they reached Effie's quarters. They stopped there and Haymitch leaned his back against the wall, his hands still in his pockets. Then Effie opened the door slowly and shot him a side glance, the most inviting side glance Haymitch had ever seen in her eyes. When she entered the room, Haymitch followed her, and he hadn't had time to slide the door shut when Effie threw her arms around his neck and attacked his lips.

It was the hungriest and hottest kiss Haymitch had had in his life. He wasn't very experienced with girls, to be fair. A few innocent kisses in his early teens, then the ones shared with his late girlfriend and finally, some with anonymous Capitol girls in his first years as a mentor. At the beginning, sex had seemed the only way to forget. That hadn't lasted long, though, and he had discovered that relying on alcohol was better for his heart and soul if not for his body. Besides, he wasn't into Capitol girls at all... until Effie. And even so, if anyone had told him a year ago that he would make out with Effie Trinket someday, he would have snorted in their face. Poor Chaff must be laughing out loud wherever he may be now.

But there they were, deepening the kiss bit by bit, tasting each other's tongues, their hands wandering all over each other's body... There was a moment when the world seemed to come to a halt and nothing but them mattered for a few minutes, so lost they were in their intimacy. Then Effie pulled back for air, her whole body throbbing as much as Haymitch's. His hands clutched her waist while hers ran through his hair. Haymitch studied her flustered face as if he were trying to learn her already well-known features by heart. The former escort could feel his stare fixed on her. She licked her bottom lip panting heavily and then pressed her body against his in a desperate hug. Tightening his grip on her, Haymitch tilted his head to kiss a spot below her left ear and Effie gasped.

After a few seconds of sweet kisses on her neck, he heard the former escort whisper in his ear: “We will regret this.”

Haymitch didn't want to think about that, because he knew Effie might be right, so he didn't say anything. As an answer, he slid his hands down her back to her hips and lifted her up. Effie wrapped her legs around his waist and let Haymitch carry her to the bed. They landed on it with a knowing smile, their eyes filled with lust and desire for each other.

It would be their first time together, but when they finished, their sweaty, pulsing bodies entangled, their breathings rushed, their lips swollen, and their hearts whole for the first time in ages, they knew it wouldn't be their last. Though they didn't dare to acknowledge the true nature of what was happening between them, it was pretty clear for both of them that the world made more sense when they were in each other's arms. Though they didn't want to say out loud how they really felt for each other, they knew deep inside that they had crossed a line they would never be able to uncross anymore.

They didn't talk for the rest of the night. They simply held each other as if there were no tomorrow. Despite their exhaustion, they didn't sleep much either. It was as if they knew the chances to be together would be scarce from now on and they needed to make the most of the few moments they had left. So Haymitch and Effie remained awake for the most part of the night, listening to the other's breathing or heartbeats, sharing a few kisses from time to time or drawing silly pattern's on the other's skin.

When dawn came and it was almost time to part ways to start their daily routines, they repeated what they had done the night before, without words, just enjoying the sound of moans, the taste of lips, the sight of naked bodies, the tact of skin under skin and the smell of guilty pleasure in the air.

When Haymitch left her room that morning, they kind of decided tacitly that they would keep on acting in front of the rest of the world as if nothing had happened between them: it was for the better to keep the change in their relationship to them for the moment.

After all, the future was still the same heartless bitch.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter for a while. Life got in the way and I won't be able to write for some time. :'(  
> I'm truly sorry!


End file.
